A Rouge Hero
by Wolf of the Black Rose
Summary: He suffered at the hands of sick scientists for twelve years. But he refused to break. With new abilities and his Rouge Hero deck, he escaped and ended up at Duel Academy. Will he find the home he lost, and possibly even find love?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I'm redoing this story with a different element to it. I'll be posting the new chapters over the old ones, so here's the new chapter one!**

 **Sakura: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any elements related to Ayashi no Ceres.**

 **Okay, here's chapter 1 redone!**

Chapter 1: Escape to Freedom

It was a cold night on the choppy sea. The stars were out and the moon was full, the only thing foreign in the water was a large cargo ship. No one was on the deck and everything was quiet, however this wasn't your average cargo ship.

Down in the cargo hold were tons of cages and dog crates of all kinds. But there weren't animals in these cages. There were people, or what appeared to be people at first glance. Looking closer, you could see they weren't normal people.

Many of them appeared to be crosses between human and animal to varying degrees. One appeared male with fox ears and a tail, another looked like a lynx but it's eyes were definitely human. The rest just all seemed like obvious mistakes, such as one having a patchwork of scales and fur all over his body.

In one cage sat a boy who looked out of place compared to the rest of this sad scene. For one thing, he looked totally human, a regular fifteen year old boy, though he looked a little older. He had medium, messy brown hair that started at light brown at the top of his head and became darker brown towards the bottom (A/N: It's the fourth season look). His skin was lightly tan and he was slim. He was wearing white hospital scrubs that were baggy enough to cover up the fact he was underweight. If you could see his eyes, you would see that they were a chocolate brown.

They probably sparkled at one point, but now they were dark and dull. He was in a large cage, sitting with his knees to his chest, and his head in his arms. Next to him was a small, black deck case, which naturally held a duel monster deck, but he had to keep it hidden when the scientists came to check on them.

When made him a part of this horrible scene was the fact that he had powers and abilities that set him apart from regular humans. However, what set him apart from the rest of the "people" in this room was that his powers weren't the result of experimentation. He was born with them.

He couldn't remember how long he had been there. He had memories of happier times, of a man and a woman, his parents, of a place where he felt safe and protected, but they were faded and blurred to the point where he almost thought they were lies his head was feeding him.

Ever since these monsters had him, he'd been poked, prodded, injected with chemicals, electrocuted, burned, starved, and nearly beaten to death every single day. They were trying to figure out what caused his powers and how they could use that to further their research. Apparently, since something made him different from others, they deemed him "inhuman" and therefore it was okay to experiment on him.

His life had become an endless nightmare, but there was one glimmer of hope. One of the scientists, a female with long brown hair and brown eyes, took pity on him. Her name was Rose. She had looked after him when he got sick from the chemicals they put in him and fed him when the other scientists "forgot". She even flat out refused to experiment on him, which put her in the bad books with some of her superiors.

A few months after they met, she helped him escape and they hid in a cabin up in mountains. She taught him how to read, write, count, fight, control his powers, and duel. She had even gotten a special deck made for him. Around this time was when he started seeing duel spirits, his best friend being a fuzzball with green paws and white angel wings named Winged Kuriboh, who he calls Wing.

They had stayed in hiding for two years. Until one day when the boy went looking for strawberries, he was attacked by a group of masked men. He fought them off for a while, but eventually he was overpowered, and they knocked him out. When he woke up, he was back in a cage.

From the bits and pieces of conversation he overheard, the cabin had been burned to the ground. Now, he was back where he was started, only this time there was no hope. He almost lost the will to keep going, but he remembered the many life lessons that Rose had taught him. The biggest, never give up. His spirit partner encouraged him to keep fighting, too.

So, he kept going, made an effort to show no pain in front of his tormentors, even lashing out at them on occasion. He would be lying if he said he didn't get some thrill out of that.

He had lost track of how long he had been there, but soon he heard the scientists murmuring about moving their research onto a boat since the authorities had been poking around since Rose's death. He took this as a sign from Rose's spirit that it was time to run.

Now, we're here and our survivor was waiting for his moment. When they had loaded all the mutants onboard, he memorized the fastest way to the deck, where the cameras were, and all other possible escape routes. Now, all he had to do was be patient.

They had been out at sea for two days and the scientists had, surprisingly, left the mutants alone. They were either getting used to the boat or they were observing how the mutants responded to a change in environment. Either way, it was only a matter of time before they came back, and that was what he was waiting for.

Soon, he heard the sound of the door to the cargo hold opening. He quickly his his deck on the back of his waistband, under his shirt, and waited for them to come to his cage. Soon, a male scientist stepped in front of the cage, unlocked the door, and led the boy out by the arm. They were joined by a second scientist out in the hall, and they headed toward Deck D.

When they reached the intersection, the human boy stopped, and the scientists turned to look at him. He lifted his head to look them in the eye, and then activated one of his newer powers. Hypnotism. All he has to do is look a person in the eye, and maybe say something aloud, and that person would do whatever he told them to.

"Sleep." That was all it took. Next thing anyone knew, both scientists were unconscious on the floor. The brunette then proceeded down the opposite hall, making his way to the top deck. He moved quickly, but carefully. The cameras would alert his captors of his escape, so he had to avoid them.

He was about halfway to his destination, when upon reaching Deck B, he had the misfortune of stumbling upon two other scientists. Before he could hide or back track, they spotted him.

"Hey!" One called out, both coming toward him, drawing tasers.

Thinking fast, the brunette blew the two back with blackish-purple flames. It appears our survivor also had pyrokinesis. His flames didn't always burn, sometimes they just pushed things away, or even freeze things.

The brunette then took off again, forgetting caution since he had just been caught. As he reach the last hallway, the alarms went off, meaning the rest of the workers had been warned of his escape. But that didn't stop him.

He kept going until he was finally outside and sprinted towards the rail. He jumped over the side, just as the deck was swarmed with dark suited men. He closed his eyes and a golden aura surrounded him, his descent slowing to a stop. He then took off away from the boat, being careful not to fly into the moonlight and risk being seen. Before long, the ship was only a speck behind him.

He kept flying until he started to feel dizzy.

' _Oh no.'_ He thought, knowing what was happening. Rose had warned him of this before. If he used too much power in one setting, it takes a heavy toll on his energy.

Granted he hadn't used that much power, but he had been given the bare minimum of food and water needed to survive, and not on a constant basis. With how dizzy he was feeling, he knew he wasn't going to stay airborne much longer. To make matters worse, he was out in the middle of the ocean and had no idea which way was land.

When he looked to the east though, he saw an island with some buildings on it. The brunette knew that was his only chance of survival, so he turned in the direction of the island and headed for it.

He wasn't sure how long he had been flying, he was more focused on trying to stay in the air. Soon, the island was right in front of him. His vision blurred as he descended toward the main building.

He landed as gracefully as he could some kind of walkway. But when he came to a complete stop, the fatigue caught up with him. His knees folded under him and her fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but his body wouldn't listen to him, he couldn't move.

In what little vision he had, he could see that the sky was growing brighter, which meant dawn was fast approaching. The brunette tried in vain to get up, to get moving, but all the fight had left him.

With his world slowly going dark, he couldn't stop the thoughts that were coming to his head. Would he ever wake up again? If he did, would see Rose's face, meaning he was dead?

' _I'm sorry, Rose,'_ he thought as sleep started to claim him. ' _I tried, but I couldn't make it.'_ This was his last thought as the darkness claimed him. He finally lost consciousness as the sun's rays came over the horizon.

 **There, chapter** _ **re**_ **done!**

 **Eric: She'll get the other one done soon.**

 **So, read, review, and stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here we go again, and now we go a little deeper into the story. First thing's first, disclaimer please.**

 **Wilma: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any elements related to Ayashi no Ceres.**

 **Now, on to the next chapter!**

Chapter 2: A New Home

It was now a little after seven in the morning on Academy Island, so students were starting to make their way out of the dorms to the main building for classes. Among them was a short, bluenette with glasses, wearing a red uniform named Syrus Truesdale. Along the way, he was joined by a taller boy with black hair wearing a yellow uniform named Bastion Misawa. They both met during the entrance exams and had become friends.

"Morning, Sy." The Ra spoke with a British accent.

"Hi, Bastion." The shorter boy responded quietly. He was a shy one.

They chatted as they walked to the main building, but when they got there, they heard a couple of loud terrified screams. They rushed toward the source of the screams and found a trio of girls, one with black hair, one brunette, and the third a blond, all wearing blue uniforms. They were all standing over an unconscious figure in the middle of the path.

"What happened?" Bastion asked as they came up for a better look.

Syrus got the closest and noticed that the person on the ground was a male and he looked sorta sickly.

"We don't know, we found him like this!" The brunette answered, obviously freaking out.

"Oh my gosh, he's dead!" The black haired girl cried, just as freaked out as her friend.

The blond girl was more composed than her two companions. She crouched down and felt for a pulse. "He's not dead, Mindy. He's got a pulse, but it's very faint."

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Syrus asked. It almost went unheard, but Bastion heard him and looked at him, drawing the girl's attention.

"I don't know," The blond answered, wishing she could offer hope. "Who knows how long he's been out here."

"And where he came from." Bastion added, leaning closer to get a better look at the boy. He took note that the boy was wearing hospital scrubs, so he may have come from a hospital.

"It doesn't matter right now," The blond girl said, taking charge. "What matters is that we need to get him to the infirmary."

She turned to her brunette friend. "Jasmine, call the nurse to see if she's in her office. Tell her the situation."

"O-Ok!" She said, pulling out a PDA device.

Syrus just stood there, staring at the boy on the ground. He looked at the mystery boy's face. He looked defeated and sad. It made his heart go at the boy. He actually almost didn't hear Jasmine when she got back to them.

"I told her what happened. She's sending down some people with stretcher to get him. In meantime, we shouldn't move him."

Soon, said people along with the nurse, Ms. Fontaine, a young woman with brown hair in a bun wearing a pink dress under a white and blue coat, arrived and carefully loaded the mystery boy onto the stretcher. Syrus stared after them as they rushed off, not taking his eyes off the boy until they disappeared into the building.

 _Nurse's Office_

Fontaine and her crew rushed into the infirmary, springing into action as they started prepping instruments and needles. Unfortunately, the moment the scent of antiseptic hit the boy's nose, his eyes snapped open and he reacted badly to the activity around him.

He started fighting and thrashing to get away from the doctors. While said doctors tried to hold him down, Nurse Fontaine called security for assistance. By the time they got there though, the struggling boy had managed to get off the stretcher. The boy growled at them, looking very much like a trapped animal.

One of the guards came at him, but he rolled away from him and sprung up in a fighting position. Instincts kicking in, his hands started glowing with the same power he used to fly last night. The made everything pause for a second, since everyone was trying to process what's going on. This gave the brunette an opening to attack.

He let loose a blast of energy, knocking almost everyone off their feet. The first guard was knocked into the second, both tumbling into the wall. This snapped the last two guards out of it. They both came at him at once, but the brunette was faster and more agile, being able to vault over the guards who crashed into a doctor trying to grab him from behind.

Before anyone else could react or do something, the brunette was out the door. Nurse Fontaine got up and rushed to the phone to call the main office.

 _One of the Classrooms_

Syrus, Bastion, and the girls had headed to class right after the paramedics left. Not five minutes into the class, an announcement came over the loudspeakers for everyone to stay where they were until further notice. Syrus's mind flashed to the boy and hoped nothing had happened.

 _Near the Card Shack_

The mystery boy was running through the halls, trying to avoid any guards that could be around. He ducked into an entrance to hide and found himself in some kind of shop. The shelves were filled with card packs, snacks, and stuff for dorm rooms. There were also some fridges along the wall filled with different drinks.

He then smelled cooking food coming from the back of the shop. He decided to go check it out, his hunger overriding his caution. As quietly as he could, he slinked along the wall to the back. Finding a door, he peeked inside to see a heavy-set woman in a uniform of some kind with long brown hair in braid. She was making something over a stove. He wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled delicious.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, salivating, but he saw the woman turn in his direction. He backed away from the door on instinct. Before he could wonder if he'd been seen or not, the woman laughed.

"No need to by shy, young man. There's plenty here if you're hungry." Slowly turning back, he saw her looking his way with a kind smile. Still nervous, he slowly came back into the room, feeling like a frightened animal or child being coaxed out of hiding. But like before, his hunger got the better of him.

She chuckled a little before serving up a bowl of whatever that great smell was. He looked at it questioningly. He'd never seen a dish like this before. She chuckled again at his inquisitive look. "It's called gumbo. Don't worry, you'll love it."

He looked hesitant, but took the bowl. "Thank you." He said, his voice cracking from disuse.

"Oh, you're welcome," She answered. "You can call me Dorothy, by the way. What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Jaden." The brunette answered, sitting down at a nearby table to eat. She was right, he did love it. It probably tasted even better since the boy was near starving.

Dorothy looked over the slim boy, taking note of the torn clothes he was wearing. "We should probably get you some fresh clothes, young man." She commented, heading towards the back. "I think there's a Slifer uniform that should fit you. I'll be right back."

Jaden watched her go before he helped himself to another bowl. She came back shortly with a box in hand. "This should do nicely. There's a changing room back there when you're ready."

Jaden nodded, finishing off his second bowl. He moved to get up, but winced when an old injury started aching. This didn't go unnoticed. "Are you hurt?"

Jaden stilled, but nodded. It was probably a good idea to get some of his old scars checked for infection. "I'll the nurse, okay?"

Jaden nodded. A few minutes, later the same woman from earlier came into the room with a medical kit.

"I'm here, Dorothy, what's the-" Ms. Fontaine stopped abruptly when she saw the same young man from earlier in the room.

Jaden was also getting a shocked and nervous feeling. Unconsciously, he moved into a crouch, ready to spring at any moment. He scanned the room, looking for a way to escape.

"Glad you're here, Fonda. This young man's in need of medical help," Dorothy explained, before noticing the tension between both parties. "It's alright, Jaden. Nurse Fontaine won't hurt you."

Jaden hesitated. After what he went through, he's hesitant about trusting anyone who smells like a sterilized room. But eventually, he uncurled and relaxed a little, Fontaine being able to do the same thing. She came closer and knelt down in front of him, to get a better look at what she was dealing with. Jaden was forcing himself not to panic.

"Alright, where does it hurt?" She asked like she would a child, so as not to scare him again. Stiffly, whether it was from pain or fear he didn't know, Jaden removed his shirt, the scars and bruises from years of torture on full display.

Needless to say, she and Dorothy were both shocked by how many injuries he had, and at how old they were. "Jaden… Where did these wounds come from?"

"I… I don't know." He answered, seriously debating whether to run or stay.

Ms. Fontaine was the first to get over her shock. "Okay," She took a deep breath and got into doctor mode. "When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?"

Jaden stared at her before answering. "Um… never."

"Okay, we can take care of that, too."

 _Back in the classrooms_

Everyone got the rest of the day off after the announcement came on saying it was safe to leave. Syrus decided to head to the nurse's office and check on the mystery boy. As Syrus approached the office, he was met up with by Bastion coming the other way.

"Bastion?"

"Fancy seeing you here, Syrus. Checking up on our guest?" Syrus nodded.

The door opened and the nurse came out. "I take it you two are here to check up on the boy you found?" They nodded. "Then come in. I need to run down to the main office for a moment, so you boys can keep an eye on him."

The boys agreed and the nurse left. The boys went inside just as Jaden came out of the bathroom. The first thing that they noticed was that he was half-naked, wearing only a pair of black jeans. They also noticed that he was drying his hair, since he had just gotten out of the shower. He was lean and somewhat tall, being built like a runner or swimmer. Most of his body was covered in scars, but they were all old and faded. What stuck out though, were his eyes. They were a chocolate brown and sharp as a hawk's.

Since Jaden's wounds were old and didn't bandaging, Jaden went back to the infirmary with the nurse. He had looked over the uniform he got, and he admitted he liked the style. It consisted of a black sleeveless shirt, black jeans, red shoes, and a red jacket. He grabbed the jeans stepped into the bathroom to bathe, he didn't realize how badly he needed it until the water hit him. He actually stayed in until the water got cold. Jay could tell ya, after everything he went through, a little food in your stomach and a long shower would make you feel like a new man.

When heard someone go 'eep' behind him, he slowly turned to see two kids about his age standing there. The shortest of whom had his back turned, covering his face, and that was the one who caught his attention. The little one slowly turned back around, blushing lightly. Jaden wasn't sure what the broad definition of beauty was, but he thought he figure it out when he saw this boy.

"Um, um, um, hi," The little angel spoke in a timid voice. "I'm Syrus, and this is Bastion."

"You're the guys who found me, aren't you?" Jaden asked.

Both boys were surprised but nodded. "Thank you. If you guys hadn't helped when you did, I may not have survived much longer." He said softly, before turning to get dressed.

"What's your name?" The silver eyed boy spoke up again.

The brunette paused before answering. "... Jaden."

"Nice to meet you, Jaden," Bastion spoke next. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here?"

Jaden looked down after pulling on the shirt. "Hard question to answer."

"Okay, where did you come from?" The Ra clarified.

Jaden hesitated while putting on the jacket. "I don't remember."

It was a lie, but he wished it was true.

"Well, that could be a problem." They all turned to see that the nurse was back along with balding middle age man in a dark red coat.

"Chancellor Sheppard?" Syrus gasped.

"What are you doing here?" Bastion asked.

"What else, I heard we have a young man here with, uh, "special needs", shall we say?" Sheppard explained, trying to figure out how to best approach the situation. "I'm not sure if there's a point in asking, but do you have a last name, Jaden?"

"Yuki. My surname is Yuki." It had been his last name with his birth family. It was the one connection he had left to his past.

"Well then, Jaden, I'm Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster here at Duel Academy." The older man introduced himself.

Jaden nodded a greeting, then blinked. "Did you say Duel Academy?" He asked, feeling a grin tugging at his lips.

The chancellor returned the smile. "Yes. Are you a duelist?"

Jaden nodded, and held up his deck case. "Well, that changes things a bit. Might we continue this in my office?"

Jaden became nervous again. He wasn't all that keen on the idea of being alone with a stranger, but the chancellor seemed harmless enough. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded an okay. "Very well. Follow me, please."

"Before you go, Jaden, come back tomorrow so I can check your injuries." The nurse instructed.

Jaden nodded and headed out the door, taking one last look at Syrus before leaving.

 _Main Office_

Jaden was now standing in the main office, with the chancellor sitting at his desk, and a thinner man with a long blond ponytail and a blue coat with pink frills standing next to him.

"Now, Jaden," Sheppard spoke, explaining his plan. "Since you only remember your name and the fact you're a duelist, I've decided to enroll you here at Duel Academy."

"Really?" Jaden almost couldn't believe his ears. He smiled a little. "Thank you."

"Excuse me, I'm troubled," The other man spoke up. "This boy just appeared on our doorstep and you're allowing him to stay? He hasn't even been tested. We don't even know if he's capable of being a here."

"Yes, yes, I know Dr. Crowler," Sheppard turned toward Crowler. "Which is why you'll be the one to test him. That's why I asked you here to meet the boy."

Crowler was about to object, but then he got an idea and a sly smile on his face. "Very well, sir. I'll take care of this personally."

Crowler walked out of the room with that smile still on his face. Jaden didn't trust that smile for one minute.

"Well then, why don't we get your living arrangements set up." Sheppard said, oblivious to the ill intent Crowler had.

 _Later That Evening_

The rest of the day had been spent getting Jaden his school stuff, such as his Duel Pilot and his academy issue duel disk. After dropping off his new school stuff at the room he was given at the Slifer dorm, he had been left to his own devices to explore his new surroundings.

When he got back to the dorm, he headed for the room he was given and found Syrus sitting at the desk. Syrus turned at the sound of the door opening and was surprised to see Jaden standing there. "Oh, Jaden, hi."

"Hello."

"What are you doing here?"

"Chancellor Sheppard's going to have someone test me tomorrow to see if I can stay," Jaden explained. "I guess if all works out, you and I are gonna be roommates."

"Really? That's great!" Syrus commented.

He pointed to the top bunk, where snoring sounds were coming from. "That's my roommate, Chumley. He sleeps a lot and he's pretty grouchy."

Jaden looked at the top bunk, then back at Syrus. "I think I'll meet him later."

Syrus giggled a little at his reaction. "Well, we better go to bed. If you still have to pass the entrance exam, then it would do you good to get some sleep."

The newcomer yawned. "Yeah, guess you're right."

He went and got changed into the school PJ's he was given. Both boys went to sleep, Jaden thinking he was going to like it here.

 **Alright, second chapter done.**

 **Sakura: All in one day, wow!**

 **Yeah. Anyway, read, review, and stay tuned.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, now, we're on chapter three!**

 **Wilma (exhausted): That was crazy, redoing the whole story in one day.**

 **Nicholas: Just another day in paradise.**

 **Okay, Nicholas, sarcasm not needed.**

 **Michael: Crys, could you do the disclaimer, please?**

 **Crystal: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any elements related to Ayashi no Ceres.**

 **Enjoy the story, and hopefully this doesn't kill me.**

Chapter 3: Making the Grade

 _Dream Sequence_

 _Jaden woke to find himself lying on a couch in a house that felt oddly familiar. He felt like he had been there before. He got up to take a look around, when he heard a child's laugh. He followed the laugh to the kitchen, and what he saw nearly made his heart stop. He saw a little boy that looked like him playing house with his stuff toys. What made it shocking was that said stuffed toys were_ _ **floating**_ _!_

 _"Come on, Mr. Bear, let's get cookies for everyone!" The little boy said to a stuffed brown bear. "I know where mom keeps them."_

 _The child took his little friend and walked over to the fridge, the cookie jar floating down from the top of it._

 _"Ok, let's go watch Robin Hood!" He then walked into the living room, his toys and the cookie jar following him._

 _Jaden followed his younger doppleganger into the living room where he was putting a disc into the dvd player. "This is our favorite movie!"_

 _As the video played, the boy's head looked up, like he heard something, then turned toward the door. "Say, Mr. Bunny, could you please go get the door? Mommy's home!"_

 _The stuffed bunny floated over to the door and moved it's little arms around the knob and the door opened._

 _A woman with light brown hair and brown eyes like the little boy's, wearing a business suit, stepped into the foyer and looked around before her eyes landed on the stuffed bunny. While most people would freak out or at the very least be startled, but the lady, who was the boy's mother, just smiled._

 _"Hello, Mr. Bunny. Do happen to know where my son is?" She asked the little toy, playing along._

 _"Yes," The little boy said from the living room, trying to sound like someone else. "He's in the living room, watching a movie with Bear, Kitty, and Turtle."_

 _"I see," The woman laughed, looking towards her son with a loving smile as the stuff bunny floated back into the living room to rest next to the boy. She laughed again and went to sit with her son and his friends._

 _"And what have I told you about having cookies before dinner?" She asked, trying to sound stern, but still smiling._

 _"I only had one." The little boy defended himself, but he was also smiling._

 _"Alright," The mom caved, taking the cookie jar. "But that's all you're getting for right now, you can have one more before bed tonight."_

 _"Okay!" He nodded in agreement. "Oh, mommy, daddy's going to be home early today."_

 _"Well then, I guess I better start dinner." His mom then walked out of the living room and into the dining room which then lead into the kitchen._

 _The little boy settled back on the couch and returned to the movie he was watching, all while Jaden was watching in stunned agony, tears silently falling from his eyes._

 _Reality_

Jaden's eyes snapped open and he sat up, not quite remembering where he was. He then remembered yesterday's events. He was at Duel Academy, and in many ways he was free.

He brought a hand to his face and realized he had been crying "If only I'd known…" He whispered to himself, wiping away the tears that were still falling.

He knew that was a memory of his more innocent years. Of a time long gone. He looked over at the clock and saw that it was now seven in the morning.

"Well, may as well get up." He noticed that Syrus and Chumley were gone, meaning they were most likely in class.

After going to shower and get dressed, he went down to where the dining hall was. No one was in there, so was about to go poke around in the kitchen for something to eat. When he moved the curtain aside, he was met by a man with long black hair and glasses holding a plump looking tabby cat in his arms.

"Oh, good morning, you must be Jaden." The man greeted him. He seemed pleasant enough, but Jaden could sense he was hiding something.

"Yes, and who are you?" He asked, suspiciously.

"My name's Professor Lyman Banner, I'm one of teacher's here at Duel Academy and I look after the students in the Slifer dorm." He explained with a kind smile. "Since I don't have a class to teach for a while and since your duel isn't until noon, I figured I'd get to know my future student."

He set the cat down, and then grabbed two trays of food from the counter. "Since I didn't see you come down for breakfast, I assumed Syrus and Chumley let you sleep in. So, I made extra for when you came down."

Jaden stared for a moment, then followed the professor out to the dining area. "Thank you." He finally said when they sat down.

"You're quite welcome, Jaden. I wish you luck in your upcoming duel." Banner said kindly, as they ate.

Jaden smiled a little when he saw it was fried shrimp, it was his favorite. He started eating when he felt something rub against his leg. The cat from earlier was trying to get food out of him, and he had even sent him an image of Jaden giving him shrimp to prove it.

"Sorry, big fella, but this food his mine." Jaden told him, but picked him up and set him on his lap to pet him.

"You must be special, Jaden. Pharoah's never warmed up that quickly to anyone." Professor Banner commented.

 _'You have no idea.'_ Jaden thought, dryly.

 _Nurse's Office_

After having breakfast, Jaden went to the main building to meet with the nurse about his injuries.

"Oh, hello, Jaden. Please come in." He walked in and sat on one of the beds.

"May I see the wounds on your back, please?" Jaden nodded.

He took off his jacket and pulled up his shirt to that his back was exposed. When Fontaine when to look, he was surprised by what she saw.

"Jaden… your wounds have almost completely healed." She said, not quite believing it.

Jaden then remembered about his healing capabilities. He could heal from almost any injury, how fast depended on how much energy he had. The food he got yesterday and this morning must have given him the boost needed to start healing, if he got food regularly for a day or two his wounds would be completely gone.

He smiled, but his eyes were sad. "I always did heal pretty quick. Guess I really am a freak after all."

Ms. Fontaine looked at him in surprise. "Jaden, why do you say that?"

Jaden's eyes widened, and quickly played on his amnesia angle. "I don't know. I just feel like I've said that before."

Ms. Fontaine looked at him, not quite believing that answer, but let it go for now. "Alright, since these wounds will probably be gone soon at the rate they're healing, I don't see a reason to come back again. So, I'll give a clean bill of health and let you go work on your deck for your duel."

"Thank you." Jaden said, adjusting his clothes. He then quickly left the room.

Nurse Fontaine decided to find out just who Jaden was.

 _Main Arena_

The main arena was full of people. Naturally, word had gotten around about the mysterious new kid who had been found on the path to the school, and was going to be dueling Dr. Crowler for the right to stay here.

Naturally, Bastion and Syrus were there, sitting up in one of the top rows. Sy didn't know where Chumley was. Alexis was also there, on the other side of the arena, with another boy with blue hair and wore an Obelisk uniform with the colors inverted, showing he was a third year. His name was Zane, the older brother of Syrus and the top duelist on campus. Alexis didn't know where her friends Jasmine and Mindy were. There were also three guys sitting a couple rows in front of her and Zane. One was Chazz Princeton, a kid with spiky black hair and an Obelisk, the other two were his two "friends", Torimaki and Raizou.

"Certainly a lot of people here." Jaden commented, walking up to where his rescuers were sitting.

"Yeah," Syrus agreed. "They're probably all just curious about what kind of deck you use."

"Or they're sizing you up as competition." Bastion added, being realistic.

"Well then," Jaden smirked. "Guess I better give them a show."

He focused his will and his power on his left arm, then suddenly the academy issue duel disk he had received appeared on his arm. Syrus and Bastion stared in shock.

"Not a word." With those words, Jaden headed to the duel field.

"He's so sure of himself, I wonder if he's really that good." Syrus said.

"He's going to need to be," Bation said, looking at the duel field. "Look who he's dueling."

Crowler was prepped for the duel. His duel disk looked like it was attached to the uniform, at least the part that held the graveyard and deck did. The tray part was held in his hands like a guitar. Jaden walked onto the platform, looking completely calm and collected.

"Alright, test time!" Crowler said looking at Jaden with confidence. "So, son, your name?"

"Jaden Yuki."

"Well, Jaden Yuki, I'm Dr. Vellian Crowler, Department Chair and Techniques professor here at Duel Academy." Crowler introduced himself with pride dripping from his voice. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Jaden answered, activating his duel disk. "Time to throw down!"

"Duel!"

Crowler: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"I'll go first!" Jaden drew his first card. He looked over his hand and smiled.

"I'm gonna summon Rogue Hero Windblade in defense mode!" A teenage boy appeared with short brown hair, orange eyes, and tan skin. He was wearing a simple black, short-sleeve, hooded shirt, black jeans, and black boots. His weapon of choice was a sword with a blue blade. He crouched defensively using his sword to defend himself (1800/1500).

"And when he's summoned, you get dealt with a whopping 500 points of damage." The warrior teen slashed his sword hard through the air, causing a fierce air current to hit the good doctor.

Crowler: 3500

Jaden: 4000

 _ **"Hah, guy wasn't so tough!"**_ The warrior said, confidently.

 _"Easy, Ventus,"_ Jaden responded with his mind. _"The fight's just begun."_

Meanwhile, everyone in the audience was staring at the monster with awe and wonder, since no one had heard of Rogue Heroes before.

"Rogue Heroes?" Syrus wondered aloud. "I've never heard of them."

"Neither have I," Bastion added. "But I had heard of a contest a few years ago where the winner had their submitted designs turned into cards. Jaden must have been the winner of the contest."

"Have you ever heard of these cards, Chazz?" Torimaki asked the rich, spiky hair boy.

"No, but let the kid play whatever he wants," Chazz responded haughtily. "It won't help him."

"I set a card face down," Jaden proceeded with his turn. "And then I activate the effect of Rogue Hero Cyclone, by sending a wind attribute monster to the graveyard, I can summon him!"

Ventus jumped into the air and mysterious winds swirled around him. When they dispersed, another teen, this time with purple hair and eyes appeared. He wore the same outfit as Windblade, only with a sleeveless, vest styled shirt and holding an ornate, white spear. He dropped into the same position that Windblade had been in (2800/2500).

 _ **"Need some help, Jay?"**_ The redhead turned to his boss.

 _"Anything you can give me, Fedir."_ Jaden said, turning back to the duel.

"Now, I'll use his ability. When he's successfully summoned, I can draw a card from my deck. If it's a monster I can keep it, if not I have to send it to the graveyard." He drew his card, he smiled. "Looks like I can keep this card. I'll end my turn here. Take your best shot, teach!"

"Yes, of course. Don't tell me what to do!" Dr. Crowler said muttered as he looked at his hand. ' _After all since I'm using my own personal deck rather than one of those puny test decks, I'll be calling all the shots. I'll fail this nobody and send him back to where he came from in no time.'_

He grinned when he saw the cards in his hand. "I think I'll start off nice and easy, by playing the spell card Confiscation!"

"What's it do?" Jaden asked, tense for what comes next.

"What it does is allow me to pay 1000 life points to take a look at your hand and then send one of your cards to the graveyard."

Crowler: 2500

Jaden: 4000

As he was explaining, Jaden's hand glowed, startling him, and then holographic images of those cards appeared in front of Crowler.

"Ah yes, I remember some of these back from when I was a naive rookie." That comment made Jaden growl at his deck being insulted, but Crowler didn't notice.

"Now which one shall I banish?" He looked at each card carefully before making a decision. "Monster Reborn to the graveyard!"

Jaden's card was sent there.

"Next I'll set two cards face down," Two face downs appeared in front of Crowler and then he held up one more card. "And last, but not least, I play Heavy Storm! This spell destroys every other spell and trap card that's out on the field."

A heavy wind picked up, causing Fedir and Jaden to cringe against the wind and brace themselves, and Jaden's face down Draining Shield was destroyed along with Crowler's two face downs. That didn't go unnoticed.

"Why'd you activate that? Your own cards were destroyed along with mine." Jaden asked seriously.

"Now, now, you mustn't speak out-of-turn, young scholar." Crowler countered. After that dark clouds began to form around his side of the field.

"Hey, what's happening?" The brunette asked, getting nervous. His warrior gripped his spear tighter, knowing something was coming.

"Nothing's happening," Crowler said dismissively before adding, "Not yet!"

Just as he did, two golden dragon-worm-like creatures appeared on his side of the field. "But that's about to change."

The audience was amazed by the two creatures but Syrus was confused. "Could someone tell me what's going on?"

"Those two cards that Dr. Crowler had out were Statue of the Wicked," Bastion explained as he observed the duel. "It's a special trap that creates a vicious monster token when it's destroyed by a card effect. That's why he played Heavy Storm."

"A card that strong couldn't be in one of test decks, Crowler must be using his own." Torimaki said.

"Then this duel's over," Raizou added. "No one can beat the deck of an expert like Dr. Crowler."

"Yeah, it's impossible, don't ya think Chazz?"

"Yeah, what do you think, Chazz?"

Chazz grinned at this. "I think I'm going to enjoy watching Crowler wipe the floor with our little friend down there. I just wish he had treated all the other second rate duelists that applied to the academy the same way."

"What an elitist snob," Alexis said. "Bullying our mystery boy with his very best cards."

"You're too soft, Alexis," Zane spoke up, causing Alexis to look at him. "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare card Crowler has stashed away in that deck of his."

"Hope this doesn't end too quickly," Alexis said, turning back to the duel. "I'd like to see more of those Rogue Heroes that kid's got."

"Ready for your next lesson?" Crowler called to Jaden on the other side of the field.

"Bring it!" Jaden said with determination on his face and in his voice. Only those who could see and hear duel spirits could see the determination on Fedir too.

Crowler regarded that negatively. "Very well."

His tokens started to glow and writhe in flames. "Now I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to summon the Ancient Gear Golem!"

In place of Crowler's tokens stood a giant robotic creature with the working gears clearly seen. Once again the audience was amazed at the sight of the monster, more so at it's stats (3000/3000).

"There it is! That's his legendary rare card!" Alexis gasped.

Even Zane's eyes widened a bit. "Now it looks like we're about to find out what makes it so legendary."

"Now, now, I hope you're not too scared of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem." Crowler said sarcastically toward Jaden.

Jaden, however, just stared it down levely. "This oversized rust bucket doesn't look so tough to me."

 _ **"Let's show the good professor just how dangerous we can be!"**_ Fedir spoke up, smirking.

Jaden nodded to his spirit friend.

Jaden's lack of fear shocked many people, including Syrus. "Either Jaden's brave or he's nuts!"

"He's staring down that legendary rare monster like it's nothing," Zane said incredulously. "I guess the youth and inexperience have their benefits."

"Give it a rest, Zane," Alexis said, getting tired of Zane's attitude. "At least the kid's showing some backbone."

"There won't be much to show after this." Zane retorted.

Dr. Crowler cackled as he gave his orders. "Golem attack! Mechanized Melee!" His monster's single eye glowed red slightly before pulling back it's fist, going in to strike the lone warrior.

 _ **"This is the end of the road for me, Jaden! You keep fighting!"**_ Those were Cyclone's last words before the machine monster's fist struck him and he burst into pixels.

 _"Fedir!"_ Jaden called as his friend was destroyed.

"Oh man, Jaden's monster didn't stand a chance!" Syrus fretted as he watched the duel. "It's defense points were too low! This doesn't look good."

"And it's about to get worse," Bastion said, remembering what he knew about Ancient Gear Golem. "When Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between its attack points and the opposing monster's defense points are dealt to the opponent as damage."

"But that would mean that Jaden's life points are gonna take a hit!" Syrus cried as he realized what was going to happen.

Just as he said that, a transparent version of Ancient Gear Golem's fist slammed through Jaden's body, making him grunt in pain but he stayed on his feet.

Jaden: 3500

Crowler: 2500

Crowler noticed Jaden was shaking a little and laughed. "Now, now don't feel bad," he taunted. "Not everyone has what it takes to get into the top dueling school in the country…"

Crowler trailed off when he realized that Jaden wasn't shaking from crying, he was shaking from anger.

"You may have gotten a good shot, but don't underestimate my skills or my deck!" Jaden said with a dangerous calm, fire burning in his eyes, holding a barely contained rage. It was taking all his strength not to let his powers out.

This took everyone by surprise, confused as to why he was so angry over losing one monster.

This took Crowler by surprise before scowling angrily. _'Doesn't he get it? He will not be admitted into this school! And he will certainly not make a mockery of my deck!'_

 _'I've got him riled up,'_ Jaden thought feeling satisfied as he reached to draw a card from his deck. _'He's going to be shaking even more once a get serious!'_

As he was about draw his card, he heard a faint cooing sound. He paused for a second before drawing and taking a look. He smiled when he saw it was Winged Kuriboh. If the little furball had a mouth, Jaden was sure he would have been smiling too.

 _'You're special ability would come in handy, but only if you're willing to make a sacrifice play.'_ Winged Kuriboh gave his duelist a wink as reassurance.

"Okay, I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." A small brown furball with green paws and little white wings appeared (300/200). "Next, I play one card face down and end my turn. You ready for what's coming next, teach?"

Crowler simply laughed at this. "Not bad, but I'm a master technician, you see," He taunted Jaden. "A Kuriboh to me is rather pedestrian; even one with wings, its defense points are still no match for my Ancient Gear Golem. It's a textbook mistake, don't feel bad. Now let's proceed."

He then drew his next card. "Now, Ancient Gear Golem, attack that Kuriboh with Mechanized Melee!"

Again the monster struck, smashing the tiny monster to pieces. Jaden cringed. _'Sorry, Wing.'_

Dr. Crowler noticed that Jaden's life points didn't drop. "Check your gear, your life points haven't changed."

But Jaden just smiled. "My gear's fine," he replied. "On the turn Winged Kuriboh's destroyed I take zero damage."

This information took Crowler by surprise. Some of the audience members were stunned that Crowler didn't know that.

"How 'bout that, a technique the good doctor didn't know." Alexis stated, sarcastically.

"No one can be expected to know every technique, Alexis," Zane argued in a scolding tone. "Especially one as obscure as that."

"Yeah, well that kid sure knew it." Alexis countered with a slight smile.

"Fine, fine, I guess your lame little monster saved you there." Crowler taunted.

"Hey!" Jaden snapped. "Just because you beat him doesn't give the right to call him lame!" This guy was going down.

"Oh yes, I forgot how attached you new duelists get to your monsters," Crowler taunted again. "I'm sorry."

"You should be," Jaden said. "Because by attacking Winged Kuriboh you set off my trap, Rogue Signal!" His trap activated, showing some rogues hiding among some tries, sounding bird calls to each other in a message, said calls being heard around the arena.

"Which lets me bring out my next Rogue Hero!" He took the monster in his hand and slapped it on the disk try. "Rise, Rogue Hero Firebird!"

Out of a column of flames, another teen, female this time appeared. She had pale skin, long white-blond hair in a ponytail, and red-brown eyes. She was wearing a black halter top, black jeans, and boots, and she was holding a whip (2100/1200). "And once per turn, I can add one trap card to my hand."

 _ **"Catch, boss!"**_ The new hero tossed a card to her boss.

 _"Thanks, Kasai!"_ Jaden put the card in his hand.

When it was done, Jaden drew his card, starting his turn. "My move!"

He looked at his cards and came up with a plan. _'Alright, team, this one's for you, especially you Winged Kuriboh!'_

He put the card he drew in his hand and selected another card. "Time to get dangerous. First, I'll play the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive, bringing Windblade back to my hand. Then, I'll bring him back to the field, and you know that that means!" The card came out of the graveyard slot and Jaden the brought the brunette back to the field to stand next to Firebird (1800/1500).

 _ **"Welcome back, Ven!"**_ Kasai greeted her teammate.

 _ **"Hey, Yuuka!"**_ Ventus said, before turning to Crowler with an angry look. _**"Now, I'm gonna put a quick hurtin' on this guy!"**_ Windblade swung his sword, repeating what happened the first time.

Jaden: 3500

Crowler: 2000

 _"Good shot, Celso, now let's end this duel!"_ Jaden said.

"Oh, I see, another amateurish mistake, but this is good, this is good, now would anyone like to tell me what our little friend did wrong here…" Crowler taunted, but was cut off by Jaden.

"I wasn't done!" He said, thoroughly annoyed with this guy. "Yeah, I know my two monsters by themselves aren't enough to take down your behemoth, but where the true strength of my monsters lie is where they stand together, as in a fusion summon."

He then showed Crowler one of the cards in his hand. "And I just so happen to have a Polymerization right here."

 _ **"Let's go!"**_ Ventus called, jumping into the air.

 _ **"Heroes unite!"**_ Kasai cracked, since it was something Jaden would say when he was younger, following Ven's example.

The two Rogue Heroes started to swirl together as Polymerization activated. After they were done, a new warrior wearing a black, sleeveless shirt with ripped looking sleeves, scarf around the neck, jeans, belt, and sneakers. He has medium black hair with red highlights and blue eyes. What made him different from the others was that he was some sort of dragonic hybrid, with red dragon wings and tail, a dragonic scale covered right arm, pointed ears, and his eyes were reptilian slits (2100/1200). "Meet Rogue Hero Dragonheart! I hope your Golem's ready for a clash of the titans!"

Dragonheart looked around before his eyes landed on Ancient Gear Golem. _**"So, this is our enemy, boss?"**_

 _"Yes, and it's time to end this, Duncan!"_ Jaden concluded. Duncan nodded in agreement.

"Well, doc, what do you think?" Jaden asked Crowler, knowing that the good professor had no idea what was coming.

"I think you're dueling quite well for an ametur but next time try summoning a monster that has more attack points than what's already out." Crowler said like he was disappointed, but he really didn't see the monster as a threat.

"What's he mean?" Syrus asked, looking at Jaden's monster.

"He means that the Dragonheart's attack points are too low to defeat the Ancient Gear Golem." Bastion answered.

"Oh man." Syrus moaned.

"Alright, young scholar," Crowler said, almost exasperated. "I don't mean to rush you but I am a busy man…are you done yet?"

"Not even close!" Jaden replied. "And, yes, I know Dragonheart has less attack points than your Golem," He then placed a card in the slot on his disk used for field spells. "That's why I'm activating this. A field spell called Fallen City!"

After he played the card, there was a bright flash, and then suddenly they were in the middle of a ruined city. It looked like the cities in zombie apocalypse movies without the zombies. In the middle of it, Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem looked like a giant monster sent to finish the city off. Duncan stood on top of the skyscrapers still standing, ready to go on the offense.

"Now, Dragonheart!" Jaden called. "Time to last one more day!" He pointed at the ancient robot. "Attack that Ancient Gear Golem with Sky Dragon Strike!"

Dragonheart spread his wings, jumped from the building he was standing on, and dove toward Crowler's monster, weaving in and out of buildings.

"Fine by me, bring him on," Crowler said like he wasn't worried. "This silly little Fallen City field spell hasn't lowered my Golem's atk by one point!"

Dragonheart then shot straight up, his body being covered in flames.

"That wasn't the plan. Though it's in ruin, this is the Rogue's home," Jaden revealed, calmly. "Here, when a Rogue Hero goes into battle against a stronger opponent, they gain 1000 extra attack points!"

"Wait! Timeout!" Crowler cried, but it didn't stop Dragonheart's attack as it dove at the ancient robot (2100-3100/1200).

Crowler was freaking out as Jaden's monster slammed straight through his, making pieces go everywhere. "No, it can't be! He was my best card!" He cried before being hit in the head by a piece of debris.

"That reminds me, you should probably know about Dragonheart's special ability." Jaden said, as the dragon like vigilante landed in front of him, smirking. "When he destroys a monster in battle, the attack points of that monster get dealt straight to your life points. Looks like I win."

"No way…" Crowler muttered. Just has he said that, the remaining shell of the Ancient Gear Golem fell on top of Crowler, despite trying to get out of the way.

Jaden: 3500

Crowler: 0

Jaden pointed his index and middle fingers at Crowler in a salute that Rose taught him. "We've survived," He breathed. "So, I pass the test, right?"

As the holograms faded, a lot of people were stunned to see that Jaden had beaten a teacher, who was using his real deck, in a duel. Crowler was dumbfounded by the whole thing. He was beaten by an "amnesiac" amatur from nowhere.

"Impossible," Crowler seethed. "There's no way that this delinquent could beat me!"

Up in the stands, Chazz and his flunkies were just as shocked.

"It must be dumb luck," Chazz muttered through clenched teeth. "No way Crowler would lose to some flunky!"

Alexis on the other hand was smiling at Jaden's win. "This kid's got a future here."

Zane just huffed and walked away.

Syrus was cheering for Jaden's win. "Yay! Way to play, Jay!"

 _'Nice,'_ Bastion thought. _'I could use the competition.'_

Jaden was surprised by everyone cheering for him, but he smiled and waved to them. He glanced over his shoulder when he sensed Winged Kuriboh's spirit appear.

 _"I think you played the biggest role in this duel, my friend,"_ He said to the little spirit. _"Thank you."_ Wing winked at him before disappearing.

Jaden then turned to where Bastion and Syrus were sitting and smiled up at them, he was definitely going to make the most of this new start.

 **And we are finally caught up! Hopefully, I'll be able to update a little more since my classes are done for the summer. So, like always, read, review, and stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, chapter 4!**

 **Sakura: Let's make this fun shall we.**

 **And doing the disclaimer will be my male counterpart, Caden. Say hello, Caden.**

 **Caden: Hello, Caden.**

 **(Chuckles) Wise cracker, isn't he? Anyway, disclaimer please!**

 **Caden: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any elements related to Ayashi no Ceres.**

 **Chapteeeer start!**

Chapter 4: New Friends, New Rivals

After the duel, Jaden went outside the duel arena to get some air. He didn't realize how electrifying a duel like that could be. Still, he got in, so now he had a new home.

' _Now what do I do?'_ Jaden wondered.

He had made his way to the courtyard unconsciously, so he sat down on one of the stone statues. The other students had filed out of the arena and most were now milling about the courtyard as well.

Jaden relaxed a little, but he was still worried. He knew he couldn't stay here forever. Three years tops and then he would have to think of something else. And due to his past, he didn't have much in the way of a future. He sighed, he couldn't just live in the moment like he could as a kid, things had changed.

"Hey, Jaden!" A voice called out.

Jaden came out of his thoughts in time for Syrus and Bastion walking over to him. "Oh, hey guys."

"Just thought we'd finally say congratulations on getting into Duel Academy, officially." Bastion said.

"Thank you," The brunette nodded. "By the way, I've meaning to ask, but why are the students wearing different colored uniforms?"

"It's the school's ranking system," Syrus answered, sounding slightly depressed. "There are three ranks that are divided into colors. You and I are in Slifer red."

"And I'm in Ra yellow." Bastion added.

Jaden looked like he still didn't understand.

"Maybe I should have Chumley explain it to you. He's back at the Slifer dorm." Syrus reasoned.

Jaden nodded, standing up before turning to Bastion. "I can assume we're not in the same dorm."

Bastion nodded in conformation. "Yes, my dorm is in the other direction."

"Alright, then I guess I'll see you in class." Bastion nodded before the two Slifers headed to their dorm.

 _Slifer Dorm_

They got back to their room and sure enough, they could see Chumley sleeping in the top bunk.

"Hey, Chumley, we need your help." Syrus asked the older boy.

Chumley rolled over to look at them. "What is it?" He grumbled and then looked at Jaden.

"And who's he?" He asked, since he hadn't officially met Jaden.

"My name's Jaden," The newcomer introduced himself. He finally got a look at his other roommate, and he reminded Jaden of an angry koala. "I'm a new student as well as your new roommate."

"Could you explain the color system to Jaden, please?" The small Slifer asked.

"Fine," He sighed before turning to Jaden. "Okay, here's how things work around here. The color thing is more important than anything. There are three types of students, the Obelisk Blue students, the Ra Yellow students, and the Slifer Red students. Now, the Obelisk Blue students are ranked the highest, some through grades, others through connections. The Ra Yellow kids are really gifted kids with lots of potential, and then...there's us, the Red Wonders…"

"Wonders?" Jaden murmured.

The large boy continued. "As in 'I wonder how rejects like us even got this far'. Hate to tell you, but we're the bottom of the barrel, mostly due to poor grades or dueling skills."

Jaden and Syrus looked at each other for a few moments, before the other boy said, "Oh, but that might not be the case with you. All transfers automatically start in Slifer red. Anyway, good job on getting in. I'm Chumley by the way, nice to meet you."

 _A short time later_

After the explanation, Jaden and Syrus were heading to the main building so Jaden can get a look around. As they went, Jaden noticed Syrus looked a little depressed.

"Hey, what's wrong, Sy?" Jaden asked his roommate.

"Nothing," Syrus sighed, before elaborating. "It just gets me down everytime Chumley says we Slifers are the worst."

"Syrus, ranking doesn't mean everything," Jaden said, wanting to cheer him up. "I mean you saw my duel. Besides, there'll be chances to advance."

"I guess you're right." Syrus reasoned, cheering up a bit.

"Now, let's go exploring!" Jaden suggested, running ahead to the main building, forgetting he was faster than Syrus.

"Hey, wait up!" Syrus called, running after him, shocked by how fast he was.

 _Main building_

After looking at the various classrooms and duel fields, they ended up back at the main arena.

"You know, I didn't get the chance to take a good look around," Jaden mentioned, taking a good look at the place. "This place is pretty cool."

"Yeah, it's totally state of the art," Syrus said, when he suddenly became worried about something. "But I don't think we should be here now."

"Why? We're students here and this is our campus?" Jaden pointed out.

"Wrong. This is the Obelisk Blue campus. No Slifer slackers allowed." They both turned to see two guys in Obelisk blazers. They were same guys who were hanging out with Chazz; Torimaki and Raizou.

"Oh, really?" Jaden said, not liking these guys at all.

"That's right," Raizou pointed behind them. "Check out the crest!"

The boys turned to see a large symbol in the shape of Obelisk the Tormentor's head above the entrance to the duel arena.

"This is Blue territory. No Reds allowed!" Torimaki sneered.

Syrus shrank away from them. "Oh, sorry. We didn't know. We'll leave, right guys?" he asked, looking at Jaden, practically begging him with his eyes.

The brunette shrugged. "Don't worry Sy, we don't have to leave. Not unless…" He turned to the Obelisk snobs with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "One of you guys agree to duel me. I'll be a guest duelist."

The blue haired student looked at Jaden a moment, "Wait a minute, you're that kid!"

Before either Slifer could say anything, the brown haired snob turned to someone up in the stands. "Hey Chazz! The transfer who beat Dr. Crowler is here!"

They turned to see another boy in blue with spiky black hair and cold gray eyes staring down at them, specifically at Jaden. Jaden stared back at the boy for a few moments before he felt something brush at the corners of his mind, like there was something familiar about this guy.

Jaden stared a little while longer before waving at him, "Hey, what up? I'm Jaden and your name is uh … Chuzz was it?" He asked, looking at the Obelisk snobs with a slight smirk.

The kid growled, knowing Jaden had done that on purpose.

"He's Chazz Princeton and he was the number one duelist back at Duelist Prep School, so you be sure to pay him the proper respect!" The blue haired teen snapped.

His friend nodded, "He's gonna be the next King of Games, the best duelist in the world!"

Jaden scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Maybe, maybe not."

"Say what?" Raizou asked confused.

"Maybe he'll be the next King of Games, or maybe it'll be me. Nothing's for sure." Jaden explained, nonchalantly.

The Obelisk boys stared at him before laughing at what they heard, but for a not so nice reason. The two boys then stopped laughing and then glared at Jaden. "You? A Slifer Slacker, the next King of Games? That'll be the day!"

"Can it, you two!" a cold voice snapped. Chazz walked down the ramp a bit to get into their view some more. "Maybe the new kid has a point."

"Uh, whatcha mean Chazz?" Torimaki asked, confused.

"He did beat Crowler after all … and that legendary monster of his. I suppose that takes some skill."

Jaden didn't say anything, knowing that an insult was going to come out of that. "Or was it luck? I say we figure that right now."

Jaden looked Chazz dead in the eye. "Bring it!"

"Well, this certainly is a motley crew." said a new voice.

They all turned to see another Obelisk walking towards. It was a girl Obelisk with long sandy blond hair. It was Alexis Rhodes.

"Who's she?" Jaden asked.

"She was one of the girls who found you," Syrus answered. "But I never got her name."

Chazz smirked. "Hey, Alexis. You come to watch me mop the floor with me new friend Jaden? I promise it'll be a short match, but an entertaining one."

Alexis crossed her arms and lightly glared at him. "I came to remind you guys about dinner, you're late."

"Oh, yeah," Chazz mumbled, getting up and walking away. "Come on guys."

The other two followed him. Jaden stared after them, like if he stared at Chazz long enough he'd figure out what the strange feeling he had meant.

"Sorry if Chazz rubbed you the wrong way," Alexis said as she turned toward Slifers. "Not all of us Obelisks are like that. He's just a jerk, especially with Slifers."

"It's fine," Jaden said in a calm tone, before turning to Alexis with a smile. "And thank you for saving me."

Alexis looked at him, surprised at the reaction. "Like I'd told Syrus and Bastion, if you hadn't found me I probably wouldn't have lasted much longer. Thank you."

Alexis looked at him, before returning the smile. "You're welcome."

She then remembered something. "Oh, dinner at the Slifer dorm is starting, too."

Jaden smirked, deviously. "Well then, we better get there before the food's gone. Race ya!" He said, then dashed for the exit tunnel.

"Hey, wait up!" Syrus called as he ran after the brunette.

Just before they left, Jaden stopped and turned back to the female Obelisk. "By the way, what was your name again?" He asked.

Alexis blinked, surprised, then smiled, "Alexis Rhodes! And you are?"

"Jaden Yuki!" He replied. "See ya around!" And with that he took off again.

"Why didn't you introduce me?" Syrus asked running after him.

"Jaden…" Alexis whispered, testing out the name.

 _Later that evening_

Later that evening in the red dorm, Jaden was relaxing in his room with his roommates.

"Professor Banner's certainly a good cook." Jaden praised the Slifer teacher.

"Yeah, and he seems like a pretty nice guy as well." Syrus agreed, coming over to where the transfer was sitting with a tray of tea mugs.

Chumley was up in his bunk like he was sleeping, but he was awake.

"Yeah, he's really kind!" Jaden agreed, taking one of cups. "Thanks, Sy!"

"Hey, Chumley, want some tea?" Sy asked the grouchy boy on the top bunk.

"Did I say I was thirsty?" Chumley responded rudely, turning away from them.

"Hey, he just asked if you wanted some tea, no need to snap at him!" Jaden scolded.

"That's okay, Jaden. I'm used to it." Syrus said glumly.

"Duh, tea makes you wet the bed!" Chumley argued, then realized what he was implying. "Not that I do or ever did…I mean…whatever I'm trying to sleep!"

The boys looked at each other when a beeping, ring like sound was heard. In the quiet, Jaden realized it was his PDA signaling he had a video message. Checking it, Chazz's face showed up along with the message.

 _"Hey Slifer Slacker, don't think you're off the hook, tonight at midnight it's on. Oh, and why don't we make it interesting. Whoever wins, gets the other guys best card."_ With that the video message ended.

"I had a feeling he would pull something like this," Jaden said, closing his PDA. "Looks like I get to duel at that arena again."

"If that's Chazz your dueling all you've got is trouble." Chumley pointed out.

 _Obelisk Arena_

The boys had managed to sneak out of the dorm and were in the main building, making their way to the arena.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea Jaden." Syrus said, nervous for his new friend.

"Good or bad, when someone challenges you to a duel you gotta step up. There's no choice." Syrus made an unsure sound, but didn't say anything else.

Jaden turned to his roommate and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll be okay."

Syrus seemed to calm down a little, which made Jaden happy for some reason he wasn't entirely sure himself.

They reached the arena and found Chazz and his flunkies on the other side of the arena.

"Well, well, well, he showed." Chazz commented.

"You better believe it. I don't back down from challenge." Jaden walked over and climbed onto the dueling platform.

"Time to find out if you beating Dr. Crowler was a fluke or a fact." Chazz said.

"Yeah, well, we're going to find something else out too," Jaden responded. "Like whether or not rank actually means something around here."

"Yeah, yeah, just be sure to have your best card ready to hand over when you lose." Chazz sneered.

"You too." Jaden said, going into battle mode. "Now game on!"

Both duel disks were now on and their hands had been drawn. "Duel!"

Chazz: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Alright Slacker," Chazz drew his card and looked over his hand. "For my first move, I'll summon Reborn Zombie in defense mode."

Appearing was a decaying zombie wearing a tattered cloak with gray hair and no eyes. Also, the bones on its right hand and foot were visible (1000/1600).

"And also play one card face down." A facedown card appeared behind the zombie.

"I'm up!" Jaden said. He drew his card and looked over his hand. ' _Okay, my gut is telling me that face down is something to watch out for. And if he was at my duel today, then it might be something to stop my fusions. I'll just have to go for a different strategy.'_

As he was thinking, he heard a familiar coo sound and looked to see that his Kuriboh card had moved a little as if peeking out from hiding. _'Hey, good to see you Winged Kuriboh. I'm going think that drawing you my first turn was a good omen. I'll use you later, but first.'_

"I play the field spell, Hidden Cove!" Jaden declared.

When the field spell activated, the duelists and bystanders were inside a cove with nine caves each with the symbols of fire (red flame), water (blue raindrop), earth (a brown square with a diamond in the middle), air (light blue/green tornado), light (yellow sun), darkness (dark cloud), ice (white/blue snowflake), wood (greenish brown leaf), and lightning (cyan blue lightning bolt) hovering above them. "Here, all Rogue Heroes gain 500 attack and defense points!"

"Next, I summon Rogue Hero Black Cat!" A figure dashed from one of the caves, jumped down onto the field, and landed with all the grace of a cat. It was a nineteen year old girl with short dark blond hair, green cat-like eyes, and pale skin. Like the others, she wore all black, plus she has a cat collar with a bell around her neck. Her nails were like claws and she had black cat ears and a tail. She then glowed briefly as her power increased (2000-2500/1000-1500).

" _ **Hey, Boss!"**_ Came a voice from the monster summoned, looking around like a curious kitten. " _ **Where are we?"**_

" _Duel Academy,"_ He explained. " _We're safe, for now. Right now, we need to deal with the stiff in front of us, Naila."_

Naila looked over at Chazz's side, and smiled a sneaky cat smile. " _ **Just say the word, Boss!"**_

"I activate Black Cat's special ability, when she's summoned I can destroy one of the cards you control! Looks like your face down just became her new play toy!" Naila dashed forward, becoming blur. Said blur jumped over the zombie and landed behind it, the face down flipped to reveal it was Chthonian Polymer.

' _I knew it!'_ Jaden smirked, his instincts right about the face down.

"What was that card?" Syrus asked, confused.

"I had a feeling I'd find you guys here." Syrus turned to see Alexis walking towards them.

"Alexis?" He wondered what the Obelisk girl was doing here.

"That card was Chthonian Polymer and it's a nasty trap. It allows you take control of an opponent's fusion monster by sacrificing one of your own creatures." She explained.

"Oh man!" Syrus turned back to his new friend. "If Jaden had summoned a fusion monster, he would have been in big trouble."

Naila's claw-like nails gleamed and then shredded the card to pieces before it burst into pixels.

"No!" Chazz grunted.

"And you know the best part, Chazz?" Jaden smirked. "She can still attack! Black Cat, put the Walking Dead wannabe out of it's misery!"

Black Cat did a cat like smirk, did a backflip so that she was now in front of Reborn Zombie, and then gave it the same treatment at the trap card.

"Then I'll throw down a face down and end my turn!" Jaden said, as Naila back flipped back to her master's side.

"How did Jaden know to do that?" Syrus wondered.

"I've had that technique sprung on me before, Chazz, I've learned to be weary!" Jaden informed the Obelisk. "If you want to get the drop on me, you're going to have to do better than that!"

"Careful what you wish for, Slacker!" Chazz hissed, drawing his next card. "Rise, Chthonian Soldier!"

A man in dark armor with a large sword appeared in front of the snob (1200/1400). "Then, I'll set two face downs and end my turn!"

"Alright, my go!" Jaden said, drawing his next card. "Black Cat, attack his soldier with Black Cat Attack!"

Like her entrance, Black Cat charged forward at a blinding speed, slicing apart Chthonian Soldier, before flipping back over to Jaden's side.

Chazz: 2700

Jaden: 4000

As the smoke cleared, the soldier's sword rose above them and flew straight at Jaden, hitting him in the stomach. Jaden almost doubled over in pain, but managed to stay on his feet.

Chazz: 2700

Jaden: 2700

" _ **Jaden!"**_ Naila cried as her boss was hit.

"Surprise, Slacker! When Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you take the same amount of damage to your life points that I did. It's just a matter of time, Slacker. Your best card's about to be all mine." Chazz gloated.

"This isn't over!" Jaden declared, straightening up and activating his trap card. "I activate my trap, Doppleganger! Since I just took damage from an effect, I can send that same damage back to you as well!"

The same sword appeared again, and this time Naila threw it at Chazz, causing him the same pain as her master.

Chazz: 1400

Jaden: 2700

"All right!" Syrus cheered making Jaden smile.

"Nice moves, Jaden." Alexis praised.

"More like lucky moves, you Slifer newbie scum." Chazz retorted, glaring daggers at Jaden as he made his next move.

"First, I play Mystical Space Typhoon and take out your trap!" The winds picked up and Doppleganger burst into pieces.

"Darn it!" Jaden muttered.

"Then I'll play both my face downs!" Chazz continued. "First is Chthonian Blast! Since you destroyed one of my monsters, I get to destroy one of yours and you take damage equal to half it's attack points."

A tornado formed around Naila, who yowled in pain as she burst into pixels.

Chazz: 1400

Jaden: 1450

"Black Cat!" Jaden gritted as she was destroyed.

"Now, I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted!" Chazz continued as his second face down popped up to reveal a haunted cemetery. "It lets me select one monster that's in my graveyard and summon it back to the field in attack mode. Rise, Chthonian Soldier!"

The dark armored warrior reappeared (1200/1400).

"But he won't be staying on the field for long, because I'm going to sacrifice him to summon Mefist the Infernal General!" Chthonian Soldier burst into pixels and then a dark armored, mounted horseman with a giant axe appeared (1800/1700).

"Not bad." Jaden commented, looking at the mounted horseman in front of him.

"Not bad?" Chazz looked at him before continuing. "You're something else, you know that Slacker? Acting all confident, but your lousy monsters won't get you out of this jam."

Jaden looked at Winged Kuriboh, hearing the little spirit's cry. _'I know he's wrong, Wing, because you, me, and the rest of my monsters, we share a bond that Chazz would never understand, let alone break. Especially after all we've been through.'_

He drew his next card and smiled. _'And speaking of bonds...'_

Before Jaden could make his move, Alexis turned to the entrance, thinking she heard footsteps, Syrus turning as well. When she confirmed she had she turned back to the group.

"Uh, guys! We've got company! Campus Security! If they find us all in here we'll get seriously busted!" She said with wide eyes.

"What?" Syrus yelped.

Jaden looked at her. "Why? Aren't we all students here?"

Alexis huffed and pulled out her PDA. "The rules say no off hour arena duels! Chazz _knows_ this but lemme guess, he didn't tell you?"

Said Obelisk blushed at being found out.

"C'mon, let's go!" The blue haired Obelisk leaned forward from where he was watching, the other one looking scared at the thought of getting caught.

"Well, well, Slacker, looks like you lucked out this time." Chazz said, turning to leave.

"This isn't over, Chazz." Jaden said seriously, turning off his duel disk.

"You're right, it's not." Chazz then hopped off the platform and walked out of the arena.

Jaden the followed Alexis and Syrus out of the arena, shutting the lights off on the way out. It was like no one was ever in there. After a while, they made it to the entrance of the building.

"Thanks for showing us the back way out." Syrus spoke up first.

"Sure, I'm sorry you didn't get to finish your match with Chazz." The female Obelisk smiled, looking at Jaden.

"It's okay, I know just how it would have ended anyway." Jaden replied casually.

"Really?" Alexis asked, Jaden turning to look at her. "No offense but from my point of view, it looked like it could have gone either way between you and Chazz before you guys stopped."

"Not after I drew this card." Jaden showed her the card he had drawn before they had to make a run for it. It was the spell card Monster Reborn.

Alexis gasped and Jaden smirked. He would have summoned Black Cat back to the field and use her special ability to destroy Mefist, and then had her attack, taking Chazz's life points down to zero.

"G' Night." He said, heading back towards the Slifer dorm.

"Hey, wait up." Syrus called after him.

She watched them leave before smiling slightly. ' _This is going to be an interesting year.'_

 **Well, this chapter's done.**

 **Sakura: And still so many more to do.**

 **Yeah, anyway, read, review, and stay tuned. Happy Summer Olympics, 2016 in Rio! Go, Team USA!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so we begin again with chapter five!**

 **Wilma: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any elements related to Ayashi no Ceres.**

Chapter 5: Another Late Night Duel

It was the next morning at Duel Academy and Jaden's first day in an actual school. Due to his past, his education was spotty at best, at worst non-existent. During his time with Rose he was homeschooled, and the only time he went to a school with other people was back before he was taken from his parents, which he barely remembers.

The seating chart was supposed to be that freshman were up front with the higher grades towards the top. But since the Obelisks did whatever they wanted, it was more like Slifers were at the bottom, Ras in the middle, and the Obelisks at the top.

Jaden was seated next to Syrus in the front row, Chumley sat in the row behind them, Bastion was sitting with the other Ras, and Alexis was sitting with her friends near the top. Naturally, like everyone the first day of school, he was nervous, but he was glad he was able to sit with one of his new friends.

Though Jaden had forgotten one thing; that school can sometimes put you to sleep. The fact that Crowler was teaching this class didn't help. But he made a valiant effort.

Crowler was doing a review over what they've covered so far, since the promotion exams were only a couple weeks away. He started by asking Alexis about the different card categories and their sub-categories.

"Duel monster cards can be grouped into normal monster cards, fusion monsters cards, ritual monster cards, effect monster cards, trap cards, and spell cards. Trap cards can be divided into normal traps, counter traps, and continuous traps. Spell cards can be separated into normal spells, continuous spells, equip spells, quick-play spells, ritual spells, and fields spells." Alexis addresses the entire class.

"Perfect!" Crowler praised. "Well done, Alexis! Of course, I wouldn't have expected anything less from one of my blue Obelisks!"

"Yes, Dr. Crowler." Alexis responded as she sat back down.

Jaden rolled his eyes at the obvious favoritism.

"Hmm, now who should we question next?" The doctor directed his attention toward the lower seats. "You, Syrus Truesdale, please tell the class what a field spell is."

Syrus tried but he had test anxiety, so he ended up a stuttering a mess.

"If you can't answer a simple question like that then sit down." Dr. Crowler said after a few minutes.

After that, Syrus sat down thoroughly embarrassed, much to Jaden's anger.

"You know, you really shouldn't diss Slifers, doc. I mean, I beat you and aren't I a Slifer? So that means that in the end, you're just insulting yourself." This got a laugh out of everyone at the expression on Crowler's face.

' _That's it!'_ Crowler thought in fury, looking at Jaden who had a smug look on his face. ' _I won't tolerate this Slifer Slacker any longer! It's time I get him removed from this school, permanently!'_

 _Next Class_

Thankfully, the next class was being taught by the Slifer headmaster, and the topic was interesting enough for him to pay attention.

While the professor was talking about an ancient version of duel monsters, Syrus leaned over to Jaden.

"Thanks for standing up for me, Jaden." He whispered.

Jaden looked at Syrus and smiled kindly. "No prob, Sy."

After class, Jaden was about to leave when Professor Banner asked him to stay behind for minute. "What's going on, Professor?"

"Well, Jaden, in a few weeks, the school will be having midterm promotional exams. Since you've come in so late and haven't read all the material we've covered, we've decided that you don't have to take the written portion of the exam, though you will have to show up for attendance and you will be taking the field test."

"I see. Thanks for the heads up, Professor." Jaden replied, before leaving the room for his next class.

 _Crowler's Office_

Since he didn't have a class for a while, Crowler was writing a letter with a feather pen and still fuming over what happened earlier.

"How dare that Slifer Slacker Jaden make a mockery of me in front of my class like that!" He grumbled, folding the letter and placing it in an envelope. "It'll be the last mistake he makes at this academy!"

He then picked up a mirror and started applying red lipstick to his lips. When he finished, he kissed the front of the letter where the folds meet.

"Aah! The big kiss-off!" He laughed maniacally as he set his plan in motion.

 _Gym Class_

Later, Jaden was in the gym with some other students for their next class with Ms. Fontaine, the nurse, who was also the gym teacher and headmistress of the female Obelisk dorm. He had changed into his new gym uniform and waited for the teacher to show up.

The Rogue Hero duelist noticed that Syrus was nowhere to be seen. "Hmm? I wonder where Syrus is?"

Meanwhile, in the boy's locker room, Crowler was sneaking around while chuckling sinisterly.

"Now, to plant the bait where Jaden will be sure to find it." Crowler said, searching the lockers for the one he thought was Jaden's.

He believed he found it when he saw Jaden's boots. "Ah! His shoes!" He chuckled again, placing the letter on them and quickly left.

A few minutes later, Syrus came running into the boy's locker room, late for class. "Lousy girl's gym!" He said running towards his locker while trying to pull his shoes off. "They should make the signs bigger!"

When he opened his locker, he noticed Jaden's shoes where in it. "Hey, those are Jaden's shoes. Guess he's borrowing my locker."

He went to move his shoes, causing the letter on top to fall to the floor. "Huh?" Syrus wondered, picking up the letter to examine it. He instantly saw the lipstick mark.

"But this isn't Jaden's!" Syrus gasped, before looking around to see if anyone was in the room.

He then ducked between two sets of lockers to hide, so he can read the letter in semi-privacy.

"Someone wrote me a letter?! Wonder what it says…" Syrus muttered, opening the letter to read it.

"Since the moment I first saw you, I've been… in love with you!? Meet me tonight behind the girl's dorm. Endearingly… Alexis Rhodes!?" Syrus actually fell backwards after reading that.

"Wow, this sure is a lot better than what my mom usually writes me…" Syrus said before slipping into a daydream about him and Alexis getting together.

"Oh, I'm yours!" He said with a dreamy look on his face.

 _Later that night, at the Slifer dorm_

It was the end of the day and Jaden didn't get why people hated gym class. To him it was easy. First, the instructor, who was also the nurse Ms. Fontaine, had made them run laps and he had finished up long before the others. Then, she split them up for three way dodgeball, which was actually kind of fun.

Syrus had showed by that point and had ended up getting hit in the head by one of the Obelisk boys. The same Obelisk along with Chazz's flunkies were taken out by Jaden in retaliation. He practically took out two thirds of the other teams by himself. Jaden then got Chazz out, bringing things down to just him and Alexis. It was close, but Jaden managed to dodge a throw from Alexis, and then get her out right before the bell.

Jaden had a blast, and he was also positive some of his classmates hated him now. Afterwards, since it was his last class, Jaden decided to take a walk along the beach before dinner. He loved the view, and deeply wished that Rose could see it. After he got back, he started his homework before heading to dinner, then went to go shower before continuing his work.

"Hey, Sy, the outhouse is your if you want it. I'm done." Jaden said, coming back in wearing the pajamas Ms. Dorothy gave him and drying his hair.

"Sy's gonzo." Chumley said off handedly.

"Huh?" Jaden blinked.

"Yeah, he just left," The older boy explained. "And he was in a real good mood, too."

"A good mood?" Jaden repeated, as if he wasn't sure he had heard him right, before sitting down on a stool in the room. ' _I have a bad feeling about this.'_

 _The Obelisk Girl's Dorm_

The night caught Syrus in a rowboat heading towards the girl's dorm with a big grin on his face.

"Alexis! I'm coming for you, my darling! I'm coming!" He exclaimed, so deep in this fantasy that he didn't stop to think that this was a bad idea.

Meanwhile, up at the gates, Crowler, wearing a tight, black body suit, cut the lock off with bolt cutters and headed inside. He then dashed from bush to bush in a ninja like fashion as a way to get closer to the windows. That way he had better light to see, but also couldn't be seen.

As you got closer, you can hear Alexis talking to her friends.

"Hey, Alexis, want to chill out in the Obelisk wading pool?" A girl with brown hair, named Jasmine, asked her.

"No, thanks," She declined. "We'll wade and the guys will rage. I'm not in the mood for a game of tackle marco polo."

"Hello! Girl's dorm! No guys allowed, remember?" Her friend persisted, until Alexis finally agreed.

Meanwhile, Crowler had finally gotten into a position he liked to spring his trap.

"This will be perfect, thanks to that faux love letter I wrote!" Crowler said gleefully, going over his plan again. "Jaden will show up looking for Alexis, but all he'll find is trouble! Once he arrives, I'll snap a picture of him. And then, I will have caught him red-handed breaking campus rules! He will be ruined!"

Meanwhile, the girls were in a wading room that was all gold and kinda reminded you of a Greek were talking about the usual girl stuff, school, boys, etc. It wasn't long before before their conversation turned to a certain lost and found Slifer boy.

"Can you believe what that Jaden kid said to Dr. Crowler in class today?" Jasmine asked. "He's got some nerve to talk to a teacher like that. Completely disrespectful! He should be grateful they allowed him in here without too much of a hassle. Don't you think, Alexis?"

"Actually, I thought it was kind of cool." Alexis answered, in kind of a dreamy voice.

"What?!" Jasmine cried in shock. "Him, cool?!"

"He could be," The black haired girl, who's name was Mindy, spoke up. "If he had the talent to back up that talk…"

"I think he just might," Alexis interjected. "Still, I won't until I duel him myself…"

Suddenly, some girls started shouting about a boy being on the grounds and all conversation came to a halt.

 _A short time later_

"A love letter from Alexis?" Mindy asked after hearing Syrus's explanation. "You've got to be kidding!"

After being seen, Syrus had been tied up and was known kneeling before the Obelisk trio, being interrogated. Jasmine and Mindy had changed into pajamas and Alexis into her uniform.

"Yep! Ask her!" Syrus replied with a giggle, giving Alexis a wink.

"Um, hello," Jasmine retorted. "Like Alexis is really tall, and you're really short. She's really good at dueling, and you're really not. She's really hot-"

"But it's true, just tell them, Alexis! I even have the note right here!" Syrus protested, pulling out the letter. "Look, see?!"

Jasmine took the not and the girls looked it over.

"Syrus, my name's not even spelled right there." Alexis said.

"Sorry, Syrus, but I think someone's yanking your chain here." Mindy said, but her tone said she wasn't sorry at all.

"So then you don't love me?" He asked.

"Hey, wait a second," Jasmine interrupted, looking over the letter again. "This note's made out to Jaden Yuki."

"What? Jaden?! But…" Before Sy could finish his protest, the brunette showed the letter to him. Sure enough, Jaden's name was at the top of the letter. "Oh. So, I can't even get a fake love letter."

"I'm sorry, Syrus…" Alexis apologized.

"Me, too."

"I don't buy it." Jasmine wasn't ready to let the matter drop.

"What?" Mindy asked her friend.

"He could've written the note to have an excuse to come here!"

"What are you saying, that we should report him for trespassing then?" Mindy asked.

"But I was invited! I swear!" Syrus persisted, now starting to panic.

"Girls, just what on earth is going on done there?" The girls looked up at the balcony to see Ms. Fontaine, who was also their dorm instructor, looking over the railing.

The brunettes worried, but Alexis took control of the situation. "Get down! Hurry!"

The girls pushed Syrus down and pretty much sat on him to hide him from the view of the gym teacher.

"All right, what's up?" Ms. Fontaine asked suspiciously.

"You guys are heavy!" Syrus grumbled, squirming under the three girls.

"Beg your pardon!" Jasmine snapped.

"Maybe you're just brittle!" Mindy hissed.

"Gee, sorry, Ms. Fontaine," Alexis spoke to the Obelisk headmistress. "We'll make sure to keep a lid on things!"

"Well, I should hope so, it's nearly midnight, and I have pilates in the morning!" Ms. Fontaine said before heading back to her room.

As soon as they were sure she was gone, they got off of Syrus.

"So, what now?" Jasmine asked.

"I'll tell you what now, girls…" Alexis answered, crossing her arms with a smirk. "I say we use Sy here as a kind of bait to find out what we were wondering about before. Just how good Jaden really is. And I think we know just how we can get him to show us his best."

 _Slifer Dorm_

Back at the red dorm, Chumley was sleeping, like usual, and Jaden was up on the roof looking at the stars. He would always look at the stars when he couldn't sleep, and right now he was waiting for Syrus to come back.

Looking at the stars, Jaden remembered another sky full of stars, in another place. A long time ago. With someone he cared about very much. Someone who had convinced him to keep fighting. To keep living.

 _Flashback_

 _An eleven year old Jaden was lying on the ground in a mountainside meadow. He was looking up at a deep night sky full of stars, looking for constellations._

" _I had a feeling you were out here." Came a voice from behind him. Jaden looked back to see Rose standing there, her usual hiking boots, jeans, and shirt._

 _She came over and sat beside him. "What's on your mind?"_

 _Jaden stared back up at the sky. "I had a bad dream."_

" _About your family?"_

 _Jaden didn't reply, just continued staring at the sky. She waited a few minutes and then saw the tears._

 _She gathered him in her arms and comforted him. "I'm sorry, Jaden. What you went through was something no child have to experience."_

" _Why me?" Jaden sobbed. "Why did I have to have these powers? If I didn't have them, none of this would have happened!"_

 _Rose just held him. "Everyone's given their gifts for a reason, you just need to figure out the reason."_

" _How?"_

 _Rose pulled back and looked Jaden dead in the eye with a smile. "You keep moving forward. You keep fighting. You keep living. Even when the odds are against you, never give up. The odds may end up turning in your favor."_

" _But what if you still lose, even if you keep trying?" Jaden asked._

" _Then you go down knowing you did your best." Rose answered._

 _A moment of silence came upon them, before Rose changed the subject. "Now, let's see what constellations are out tonight."_

 _They stayed up looking at the stars until Jaden started to feel sleepy. She helped to his feet and walked him back to the cabin. "Rose? Promise you won't leave me alone?"_

 _Rose looked down at the boy with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I'll always be with you."_

 _Present_

Jaden was so deep in his thoughts he almost missed hearing his PDA ring, signalling he had a video message. Opening it, there was no actual video, just static and a distorted voice along with it.

 _"We have your roommate, Syrus. If you want him back, come to the girl's dorm, now. Alone."_

Jaden growled slightly, suspicious that this might be a trap. But he knew he had to go and help his friend. So, he got up, focused, and a familiar gold glow appeared around. Then, he took flight to go find his friend.

 _Obelisk Girl's Dorm_

Back at the scene of the incident, in the lake, Crowler came up for air after hiding for a while. He was shocked at the fact the wrong Slifer showed up, and even more shocked when the girls started screaming that a boy was on the grounds. Knowing that he had to get away, he dove into the lake.

"You try to expel one kid and the entire world turns against you!" he muttered.

He thought he saw a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. When he turned, he didn't see gold, but the object of his misfortune walking towards the girl's dorm.

"You're a little late." he muttered again and moved closer to get a better look.

Jaden walked through the shadows, in an effort to not be seen. He saw three girls, in their uniforms, standing by the water, with someone tied up in the center of them. He recognized one of the girls as Alexis, but he didn't know the other girls, though they sat next to Alexis in class. Since the fourth person seemed shorter than the other three, he had a good guess who that was.

Now, was the time Jaden made his appearance. "Evening."

That made all four parties shriek. Jaden was mildly amused. The others, not so much.

"Hi, Jaden…" Syrus greeted, once he calmed down.

"So, what's up?" Jaden asked, getting back on point.

"Well, uh…" The shorter Slifer explained, embarrassed. "To make a long story short, I'm basically a big loser."

"Your friend her trespassed into the girls' campus!" Jasmine said angrily.

Jaden could tell she didn't like him, though he didn't get why. She didn't even know him.

"Is this true, Sy?" He wanted to hear his roommate's side of the story.

"Hey, it's not like that!" Syrus protested.

"And now that you're here, Jaden, you're trespassing, too!" Mindy added, sounding like a total snob.

"That's right," Alexis issued her challenge. "So if you don't want us to turn you in, you're gonna have to win your freedom by beating me in a duel right now!"

"But if you turn us in, we'll be expelled!" Syrus cried.

Jaden sighed, feeling irritated. "You know, I'm really getting tired of these late nights. If you wanna see who can be crankier in the morning from not getting enough sleep, believe me, you will lose. Since you're not giving me much of an option, I accept your challenge. Let's duel, Alexis!"

Said girl gave Jaden an intense stare, which he returned ten fold.

Since Jaden didn't come by boat like they thought he would, the duel was going to take place on a patch of neutral territory on the side of lake. Syrus stood behind Jaden, Mindy and Jasmine stood behind Alexis.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Jaden." Syrus said, nervous.

Jaden didn't respond, just continued to stare down Alexis.

Crowler had gotten a little closer, but was still far enough away that he wasn't seen. "Well, well, well. A Slifer versus an Obelisk! Put him in his place, Alexis!"

"Ready?!" Alexis called.

The RH duelist nodded for his answer answered.

"Duel!" Both players drew their opening hands.

Alexis: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Take your best shot, Alexis!" Jaden challenged.

Alexis's friends watched with a mix of curiosity and disdain.

Syrus watched with mostly worry. "Here we go."

"All right! Let's see!" Alexis drew her sixth card. She looked over her hand and acted on a strategy.

"Etoile Cyber, rise!" A red-headed ballerina in an orange leotard appeared with pirouette (1200/1600). "And I'm going to play one card face down!"

"My move!" Jaden said, starting his turn. ' _Okay, the only reason you'd make this move is if you want your opponent to attack. So, I'll give her what she wants.'_

"First, I'll summon Rogue Hero White Wolf in attack mode!" The hero that appeared was like Black Cat, only male and with white wolf ears and tail, and baby blue eyes. He has long white hair and tan skin. His weapon of choice is a katana (1400/700).

"And by cutting his attack points in half, he can attack you directly! So, let's do that! Swift Sword Slash!"

" _ **You got it, Jaden!"**_ The new hero spoke (1400-700/700).

After his strength decreased, White Wolf dashed forward. He was so fast he became a blur, dashing past Etoile Cyber, coming to a stop in front of her master. Then, just as fast as getting there, White Wolf drew his sword and slashed Alexis across her midsection. She cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.

Alexis: 3300

Jaden: 4000

"Alexis!" Her friends cried her, seeing her go down from one shot.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn!" Jaden finished, as his warrior returned to his side.

When Alexis struggled to get back to her feet, Jaden shot White Wolf a glance. " _I think you hit her a little too hard, Kaiden."_

" _ **You know me, Jaden, I don't hold back."**_ Kaiden smirked.

Jaden suppressed a chuckle.

Alexis staggered to her feet, finally catching her breath. "Alright, where were we?" She drew a card.

"Ooh. I play Blade Skater!" A bald, gray-skinned woman with an ice skate blade on each wrist appeared (1400/1500).

"Now, I activate Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together to summon Cyber Blader!" Alexis's new monster had dark blue hair and light blue skin, wearing an orange and white leotard and a pair of futuristic goggles over her eyes (2100/800).

"Now, Cyber Blader, attack White Wolf with Whirlwind Rage!" The monster went into a spin and headed towards Jericho.

"Not so fast!" Jaden said, activating his facedown. The picture was of a barrier protecting an unknown Rogue Hero. "I activate Rogue Barrier! Now your attack is canceled and the battle phase is over!"

When Cyber Blader got close enough, she hit some kind of invisible barrier around Kaiden, throwing her back to Alexis's side of the field.

Alexis growled. "I end my turn."

"My turn!" Jaden drew his next card.

"I activate the field spell Fusion Gate!" He put the card in the field spell slot and a storm appeared overhead.

"Now, I can summon fusion monsters without a Polymerization. And I'm gonna summon this one: Rogue Hero Dragonheart!" After pocketing two Rogue Heroes, Dragonheart appeared without a fusion sequence (2100/1200).

"Ok. It looks like it's going to be one fusion monster against another, huh, Jaden?" Alexis said, staring at the dragon hybrid with a confident smile. "That's fine by me! Although, due to Cyber Blader's special ability, since you have two monsters on the field, her attack points double."

Cyber Blader glowed pink as her power increased (2100-4200/800).

" _ **She's right, Jay."**_ Nico confirmed, glancing back at his duelist.

"Not after I add this to the mix!" Jaden reassured him. "Since that fusion was a special summon, I can still normal summon this turn, and I summon Rogue Hero Frostbite!"

A small blizzard blowed into the area, making everyone shiver. When it dispersed, a young man of Norwegian descent in the same black attire as the others stood. He was tall with visible muscle with short ash blond hair and clear blue eyes. In his hands, he held a longbow that looked like it was made of ivory. The weird thing was that he had no arrows on him (1800/1600).

" _ **I have heard your call, Sir Jaden."**_ Frostbite spoke in a formal tone.

" _ **Oh great, Mr. Stick-in-mud is here. Now we're safe."**_ Duncan muttered, Kaiden snickering.

" _ **Speak again, Dragon Breath, and I will cause you great pain!"**_ The newcomer glared at the dragon hybrid.

" _ **Say that again!"**_ Duncan was ready attack him.

" _ **Guys, focus!"**_ Kaiden shouted. " _ **If we don't win this duel, Jaden and Syrus will get expelled, which means we'll lose our new home!"**_

" _That won't happen, Kaiden, promise."_ Jaden reassured them, before returning to the duel. "Now, I'll activate Frostbite's special ability! When he's summoned, I can special summon another Rogue Hero from my hand!"

"Not quite!" Alexis interrupted.

Cyber Blader started glowing again, and Jaden was concerned her power was rising again. But instead, the glow surrounded his monsters and they suddenly fell to their knees, looking weak.

" _Guys! What's wrong?!"_ Jaden called, concerned.

" _ **Something's draining our power!"**_ Duncan reported, his voice sounding strained.

"What's going on?!" Jaden demanded from the Obelisk Queen.

"Cyber Blader's abilities change depending on how many monsters my opponent has," Alexis explained, not sure why Jaden was getting so worked up. "Since you now have three monsters on the field, all spells, traps, and monster effects are negated."

Jaden growled. He hated how powerless he was feeling in the situation. His monsters were suffering and he couldn't do a thing about it.

" _ **Jaden,"**_ Dragonheart spoke up, managing to get to his feet. " _ **Send me in!"**_

" _What?!"_ Jaden couldn't believe what his friend was saying, and neither could the other two.

" _ **Have you gone completely mad?!"**_ The ice hero asked, stunned.

" _ **That's suicide!"**_ Kaiden added.

" _ **Maybe, but look at her attack power."**_ Duncan said, motioning toward Cyber Blader.

Jaden looked at her stats and saw that they had gone back to their original 2100. He saw what Duncan was getting out.

" _ **If I go down, I'm taking her with me!"**_

" _But-"_

" _ **Jaden, it's the only way! We need to attack now!"**_ Duncan urged.

Locking eyes with his monster, Jaden came to the ultimate decision. Giving a slight nod, he gave his orders. "Dragonheart, attack! Fire Dragon Roar!"

Duncan turned to his enemy. He took a deep breath and let loose a burst of fire at the dancing monster.

Alexis grunted and made a surprising decision. "Hold it right there! I activate the trap Doble Passe!" The trap had a picture of a flamenco dancer dancing in a spotlight.

' _Her facedown!'_ Jaden had completely forgotten about it.

The fire stretched around Cyber Blader and struck Alexis.

Alexis: 1200

Jaden: 4000

"Huh?" Jaden blinked.

"Doble Passe changes your monster's attack into a direct attack on me!" Alexis explained. "And now my monster that you were about to attack gets to wage a direct attack on you!"

" _ **Jaden!"**_ His monsters cried, trying to protect him, but they were still weak from her ability.

She skated around them and, ironically, slashed Jaden across the midsection with her ice skate. Jaden cried out as he dropped to his knees.

Alexis: 1200

Jaden: 1900

"Jaden!" Syrus gasped, as Jaden clutched his stomach in pain. His monsters were looking just as worried.

"I didn't see that play coming," Jaden murmured. "Sacrificing her own life points to get to mine."

"So, you impressed?" Alexis asked.

"I'll admit that you got me." Jaden responded, struggling to his feet.

"Oh, when I get you, Jaden, believe me you'll know it," Alexis drew her next card. "Like right now. I equip my spell Fusion Weapon to Cyber Blader!"

Cyber Blader's hand transformed into what looked like a tri-pronged blaster that also increased her power (2100-3600/2300).

"Guys, brace for impact!" Jaden told Syrus and his monsters.

"Go, Blader! Attack Dragonheart with Trident Shock!" A lightning blast came from the transformed hand and destroyed Rogue Hero Dragonheart, who screamed in agony at the hit.

Jaden cringed at the sound and covered his face from the blow back.

Alexis: 1200

Jaden: 400

"Uh-oh. Your life points are looking a little low," Alexis teased. "Hope you didn't get too comfortable here! Especially since now that you only have two monsters out, my monster's attack points double!"

Cyber Blader glowed as her strength went off the charts (3600-7200/2300).

"Yeah, because if you lose, you're both getting expelled!" Mindy added in the same manner.

"We are?!" Syrus asked, frightened.

"Not happening, Sy," Jaden reassured, dead serious. "Losing isn't an option!"

' _Hmm. You shouldn't make promises you can't deliver.'_ Alexis thought, feeling like she's won.

' _I hope I'm not making a promise I can't keep,'_ Jaden thought, trying to think of a plan. ' _Okay, Jaden. Rules sixteen and fifteen: There's always a way out and if someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it.'_

He looked over what he had. First, he had only two monsters on the field that didn't even come close to that power. Even if he summoned the monster in his hand, it would cancel that effect, but that would then leave him back where he started, only with an extra monster. The only other card he had out was Fusion Gate.

When he remembered that, I plan formed in his mind. He gave off a deadly smirk at the thought. "Perfect."

This got a reaction from Alexis.

Jaden drew his card and then leapt into action. "I activate Fusion Gate, and fuse together the two monsters I have on the field, to summon Rogue Hero Thunderstrike!"

The heroes stood back to back and started spinning. Lightning shot into the air and formed a vortex, the force nearly knocking the girls and Syrus down, and knocking Crowler around in the water.

Descending from the sky was a young woman in her late teens, about eighteen, wearing all black like the others. She had long blond hair that reaches her butt with a square fringe and blue eyes. She didn't have a weapon, but her body was crackling with electricity (2400/1600).

Cyber Blader's attack points decreased as the lineup changed (7200-3600/2300).

"Hate to break it to you," Alexis told him. "But my Cyber Blader's attack points are still stronger at 3600!"

"I know, but Thunderstrike's special ability is that she can destroy any monster whose original attack points are less than her own." Jaden explained.

"Wait! Original attack points?" Alexis asked to clarify.

"That's right," Jaden confirmed. "Attack points without any kind of enhancement."

"But, before I played Fusion Weapon, her attack points were only 2100!" Alexis realized she was in trouble.

"Exactly," Jaden confirmed. "That's Lower than Thunderstrike's, so your Blader is automatically destroyed."

" _ **The next time this chick goes messing with our friends, I better not hear about it!"**_ The new hero growled as she charged at Cyber Blader. When she reached her, she kicked her across the jaw, destroying her.

"And here comes the best part, she can still attack! Go, Supreme Thunder!" Thunderstrike turned her attention to Alexis with a heated glare.

" _ **Anyone who messes with Jaden, gets no mercy from me!"**_ With lightning covering her fist, she ran at Alexis and punched her right in the gut, causing the Obelisk Queen to scream in pain.

Crowler wasn't much safer, since we all know what happens when water and electricity meet.

Alexis: 0

Jaden: 400

"Alexis!" Jasmine cried, worried for her friend.

"Uh, what just happened?" Mindy asked, completely stunned.

"Yeah!" Syrus cheered, giving Jaden a hug.

Jaden jumped slightly at the sudden contact, but he smiled and ruffled Sy's hair in a playful manner. He then looked at Alexis and gave his usual salute. "We survived!"

When Alexis recovered from the shock, they all met in the middle. "Alright, a deal's a deal. I won, so we get go free and no one says a word about this."

"Ok, guys, I won't back out. We'll keep quiet about what happened tonight." Alexis promised.

"Well, if you ask me, I think we should turn both of them in right now!" Jasmine said, really wanting to snitch.

"Well, no one asked you!" Alexis snapped at her friend.

"Alexis?" Jazz gasped.

"Jaden beat me in a duel fair and square, and that's all there is to it," Alexis reprimanded the brunette.

She turned back to the newbie Slifer, and seeing the guarded look on Jaden's face, she decided to apologise. "Sorry about all this, I just wanted to see just how good you were myself."

Jaden looked at her for a while before speaking. "Rule seven: Never say you're sorry. It's a sign of weakness. Rule forty-two: Never accept an apology from someone who just sucker punched you."

Alexis blinked, not sure what to think of what Jaden was saying. At that look, Jaden sighed. "Rule seventeen: It's better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. Though, the next time you wanna duel, I'd feel better if you just ask."

Alexis blinked again. "Also, rule twenty-two: If your opponent deserves praise, give it to them. You're good, Alexis. Definitely, one of the strongest duelists I've ever faced."

Alexis was surprised by the compliment. Before she could say anything, Jaden and Syrus turned to walk away. "Later."

Syrus waved timidly as they left.

' _Even if I did win, I could never have turned those two in,'_ Alexis though with a smile. ' _This place is a lot more fun with them than without.'_

' _I've never seen Alexis act this way before,'_ Jasmine thought, looking at the blond. ' _I wonder, is she actually falling for that Slifer?'_

Crowler growled as he watched Jaden's departing form. "Hmph! Lucky brat! He escaped this time, but I'll still find a way to expel him! After I find a way home." He then dived under the water to swim home.

Jaden and Syrus had walked a while and were now halfway back to the dorm. That was Jaden noticed that Syrus was falling behind. He looked back at his roommate to see that he was practically dead on his feet. Jay couldn't blame him, since if was who knows how late by now.

"You okay?" The RH duelist asked the shorter Slifer.

Syrus yawned, but nodded.

Jaden crouched in front of Syrus, offering him a piggy back ride. "Hop on."

Syrus was too tired to care, and did that. "Hey, Jaden? Thanks for coming to save me." He whispered.

"No problem." Jaden started walking again.

At some point, Syrus went out completely. Jaden glanced back at him, smiling at how peaceful he looked. Glancing around quickly, he focused his energy and took to the night sky once again.

When they got back to the Slifer dorm, Jaden was thankful Chumley was asleep. He put Syrus on the bottom bunk and Jaden got ready for bed.

Before turning out the light, he took one last look at Syrus. "Goodnight, Syrus." He smiled, before turning for the night.

 **Finally, it's done! I've been having issues with my college financial aid as well as some of my classes, so this was put on the back burner.**

 **Rose: Better hop off now, it's time for Specialized Crimes class.**

 **Right! So, read, review, and stay tuned!**

 **P.S.: I plan on making a list of the rules and posting them on my Deviantart account. My name is Gemini1230. I'll also be posting character bio's on there, too. They may contain spoilers, so you have been warned.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, chapter six! This ones getting the most headway.**

 **Casey: Be sure to work on your beta project at some point.**

 **I'll get to that soon!**

 **Brian: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any elements related to Ayashi no Ceres.**

 **Caden: Here we go! Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: First Test

It was a few weeks after Jaden's duel with Alexis, and it was test day. The early morning was met by a fleet of ships, planes, and helicopters, like they were off to war.

"Attention, all craft," The captain spoke to the crew over intercom. "I know it's been a long journey, fighting off mig intruders, taking on attack subs. It seems the whole world has tried infiltrate our defenses, but it's about to all pay off. We're about to reach our final objective with the payload safe! So full steam ahead, men! This is the moment we've been waiting for! The moment Duel Academy gets their new rare cards!"

 _At the Slifer dorm_

At the the Slifer dorm, the morning saw Jaden sleeping in a little, since he didn't have to take the written exam. Syrus on the other hand had been up all night doing some kind of strange seance.

"Please, please, please!" He was sitting at the desk with candles lit and wearing a headband with three Monster Reborn cards in it. He seemed to be praying to a poster of Slifer the Sky Dragon, being the poster boy for desperate measures. "Please help me ace my exams today, or I'll be stuck wearing this red blazer forever. Not that there's anything wrong with red, of course! It's great on you, Slifer, but I wanna be in Ra yellow! Please give me a sign that you'll help!"

*Ring!*

"Slifer?!" Syrus freaked at the sudden noise before calming down. "Oh. It was just the alarm clock."

He got up to go turn the blasted contraption off, which was right next to Jaden's head and somehow he slept through it. "And of course Jaden sleeps right through it! How can he be so relaxed when there's so much at stake?!"

Syrus didn't know about Jaden's situation, since he hadn't been told. Jay didn't want to look like a show off or like he was getting special treatment, so he didn't say anything.

Syrus started shaking Jaden to get him to wake up. "Jaden, wake up! If you miss these tests, you'll never advance to the next dorm!"

"Wrong, Rose!" Jaden yelled in his sleep, smacking Syrus in the face and knocking him to the floor. "'Cuz I played a trap!"

Syrus groaned, sitting up. "Why can't he ever be dreaming in defense mode when I wake him up?"

"Duh, Syrus!" The blue haired boy looked up to see Chumley looking over the side at him. "You shouldn't be waking him up at all! Just think about it. After today's written test, we have our field test, and it would be totally lishus for us both if Jaden slept right through it. You get what I'm saying?!"

"Chumley, I never get anything that you say!" Syrus complained, sitting up a little more.

"Hello! The field test is where they pit class members against each other in a duel, and I don't wanna duel the guy who beat Dr. Crowler. So if we let the competition sleep in, then we make out. You get it?" Chumley explained, winking.

"Oh, I get it," Syrus glared at the older boy. "And I'm starting to get why you were held back two years."

He turned his attention back to Jaden. "Jaden! Get out of bed! We're already late! I'll save you a seat! Hurry!" And with that he ran out the door.

Chumley watched him go. "Fine. Plan B it is."

Syrus was running fast to the main building. _'OK! Cram time! Now let's see. A normal trap can counter a normal spell. A quick play spell can beat a ritual spell, and-'_ He then comically tripped. _'A double knot beats a single knot.'_

 _A little while later_

"Wow, Chumley's an awesome cook!" Jaden was finally up and making his way toward the main building.

He looked back at the Slifer dorm, and when he thought he was far enough away he stopped and looked around. He decided that teleporting would be the fastest way to get there. So, he closed his eyes in concentration, but before he could, he thought he heard something up ahead.

Looking up the road, Jaden saw heavy-set woman wearing a pink blouse with blue overalls trying to push a van up the hill. "Hm, to be a gentleman or to be on time? While punctuality is important, Rose said to never turn a blind eye to someone in trouble. Plus, I can finally use my powers to help others."

He ran up behind the van to give the lady some assistance. "Need some help, ma'am?"

"Oh, thank you. You must be from the auto club." The woman replied, thankful for the help.

"No, I'm just a good Samaritan." Jaden responded getting behind the van to push.

"Isn't that nice?" She replied, but lost her grip and the van started to move backwards.

Thankfully, Jaden quickly used his telekinesis to stop the van, but kept his hands on it to make it look like he was pushing. "It would probably be nicer if I pushed!"

"Thank you."

"It's no trouble at all, ma'am!" Jaden assured, acting like a gentleman.

"You're such a sweet boy," She said gratefully. "I'll remember this."

 _Test Room_

After helping the lady, who he learned was Ms. Dorothy, Jaden used his teleportation to get to the door of the test room and slipped inside. He headed to his seat beside Syrus, who was asleep.

Jaden thought about waking him up, but from a lesson he learned from Rose he decided against. Sy got this way because of that seance, so he was going to pay the price. Plus, it was payback for lighting candles and making it hard for Jaden to fall asleep.

' _He's also quite cute like this...'_ Jaden stared absentmindedly, before realizing what he just thought.

' _What the heck am I thinking?!'_ He shook his head slightly. He glanced back at Syrus and smiled slightly.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't see Crowler peaking into the room, watching him. "You may be able to skate your way through school, Jaden, but when your field test starts, believe me, it'll be your biggest blunder!" He cackled.

 _After the test_

On the far side of the island, the commander and his crew had landed and were heading toward the school.

After the test was over, Banner made an announcement. "Alright, class. The written exam is now over, so please walk, do not run, to get in line for today's new rare cards."

"They're here?!"

"Oh, dear." Banner muttered.

As soon of those words were out of his mouth, a stampede of students rushed out the classroom.

"Chazz, Chazz!" Torimaki called to his 'boss'.

"The new cards are here!" Raizou added.

"So go fetch." Chazz answered, not even looking up from the paper in his hands.

Like loyal dogs, the two lackeys ran off. This left only Bastion, Syrus, and Jaden, the former trying to wake the latter.

"Say, you two may want to give some serious thought to waking up." Bastion said, shaking Syrus awake.

It took a bit, but Syrus finally woke up with a startled yelp. "Aw, I flunked, didn't I? I'm a complete failure!" He moaned, anime tears going down his face.

"Sy, if they were grading melodrama, you'd get an "A"." Jaden cracked, looking from the desk he was laying on. He wasn't actually sleeping, he was just resting his eyes.

"Hey, where'd everyone go?" Syrus asked, now noticing the empty classroom.

"That's what I was trying to tell you. The new rare cards have arrived today. Everyone's at the card shack." Bastion explained.

"What?! New cards?!" Syrus cried in disbelief. "Hey, how come no one told us?!"

"Because everyone wants the best cards for themselves to use in the upcoming field test." Bastion told him.

"So why aren't you getting some?" Syrus asked the Ra.

"Please. One errant card, and my deck's delicate balance would be completely thrown off." Bastion replied.

"Mine wouldn't!" Syrus said.

"So let's go. I'm curious to see what they have. Thanks for the tip, Bastion." Jaden said, heading out of the room with Syrus right behind him.

 _The Card Shack_

The boys were soon at the card shop, only to see there wasn't a line when there should have been.

"Where is everyone?" Syrus asked, surprised at how quiet it was before realizing something. "They couldn't have…"

"Run out of cards already?!" They both finished, Jaden mostly from surprise.

Jaden, keeping calm, walked up to the counter to speak to the lady behind it. "Excuse me, um, Sadie?" He asked, looking at the girl's name tag for her name. "Are there any cards left?"

"Of course we have some left. Just regular packs, though." She pulled a single pack. "Here you go."

"Um, I was kind of hoping for more than one." Jaden said, a little annoyed about the matter.

"I'm done for!" Syrus whined. "I slept through my written test. Now I'm going to flunk my duel test 'cuz I can't upgrade my deck!"

"So take the pack, Syrus." Jaden offered. "I'll get through it with the cards I have now."

"Really? You'd give me the last pack that they have?" Syrus asked, amazed by his new friend's generosity.

"It's cool!" He assured.

"But what about you? I mean, what if…" Syrus started, but trailed off.

"What if what?"

"You fail!" Syrus finished, worried for his friend.

"It'll be fine, Sy," Jaden said, not wanting to tell his friend the truth. "I may fall down from time to time, but I don't fail."

"Yoo-hoo! Auto club!" Called a chipper voice coming in from the back. They turned, and Jaden saw that it was the woman from this morning.

"Oh, hi, Ms. Dorothy!" Jaden greeted the older woman. "You work here, too?"

"Oh, no, I don't work here. I own here! Cool, huh?!" Dorothy explained, winking.

"That's impressive!" Jaden commented.

"How do you know her, Jay?" Syrus asked.

"Oh, I helped her this morning when her car broke down." He explained.

"Here, I have something for you." The card shack owner said, getting both boys' attention. She pulled a box out from under the counter. "When I got here after checking the van, I looked through the mail and found a package with your name on it."

Jaden was stunned, but accepted the package. "Thank you."

Ms. Dorothy smiled. "Maybe you can put them to some good use, when you're not fixing some old cars, that is!"

Jaden nodded and the boys left. Syrus headed to the duel fields and Jaden went and found a mostly deserted spot to see what exactly this was.

"Now what could this be?" He noticed a letter attached to it and opened it to read it's context.

 _Heard about your recent troubles. Hope this helps._

It wasn't signed. Jaden opened the package revealing a silver briefcase. When he opened it, it was full of duel monster cards. Not just any cards, they were all Rogue Heroes and cards that could support them.

' _Okay, this is now suspicious as hell,'_ Jaden thought, before sighing. ' _But, rule number six, don't waste good.'_

He looked up when the spirits of those cards appeared in front of him. "Alright guys, let's see if we can get to know each other."

 _Elsewhere_

Chazz and his flunkies were in a different part of the school, killing time before the field tests. His friends had just explained what had happened at the card shack.

"Then this guy shows up and takes all the new cards. I mean, every one!" Torimaki explained.

"So we couldn't getcha any, Chazz. Sorry." Raizou apologized.

"You know what's "sorry"? You guys, that's what," Chazz snarked, before turning to them. "But it doesn't matter. 'Cuz not one duelist here can beat me, no matter what card he has."

"Unless that duelist happens to be Jaden Yuki." The three Obelisks turned to see a man in a long black coat and hat.

"Who's there?!" Chazz growled.

"Someone who suspects you despise Jaden as much as I do." He answered mysteriously.

"That's the sticky fingers who took all the rare cards!" Torimaki cried.

"Cards? What cards? Oh, do you mean these cards?" He spread his jacket open, revealing rows of cards.

"Oh, now dat's style!" Raizou commented.

"Talk about havin' a card up your sleeve." Torimaki added.

The mystery man laughed. "What's the matter, Chazz? Don't recognize me? How about now?" He threw back his cloak and hat to reveal…

"Crowler!" All three boys were shocked.

"You know, you looked better all covered up." Chazz wise-cracked.

Crowler face faulted, but then straightened up. "Yes. Well, I have a plan that will make us all look better and make Jaden Yuki look like the cut-rate duelist he truly is. I want you to be his test opponent for his field test and to use these rare cards to beat him."

"But we're not in same dorm!" Chazz pointed out. "They won't let me be his test opponent."

"They? I am "they". I'll make it happen! And you just make sure that you use all these rare cards to put Jaden in his place in front of the entire academy!" Crowler assured, before letting off an evil cackle.

 _Duel Fields_

Everyone was in the gym, where the practice fields were. Jaden saw that Syrus had already ended his duel, as he made his way on to the field. When he got to his, he got a big surprise.

"I'm dueling an Obelisk?" He gasped. "And it's Chazz?!"

"That's right, Jaden," Crowler confirmed, since he was the one judging their exam. "Since you always talk such a big game, I pulled some strings for you so you got the challenge you deserve!"

"So congratulations! You'll be dueling one of the top ranked duelists in the school! What an honor! I certainly hope that you were able to snag a lot of today's rare cards so that your deck is up to snuff!"

Jaden could hear the sarcasm, and was tempted to say so, but decided to keep up the dumb act. "What's wrong? Aren't you going to thank me?!"

' _I've got a baaad feeling about this!'_ Syrus thought, worried about Jaden.

 _'This is clearly a trap,'_ Bastion thought, suspiciously. _'Only a cavalier fool would agree to it.'_

"I'll do it!" Everyone gasped at Jaden's voice and the duel starting. "All right, Chazz! Let's brawl! I'm gonna finish what we started at Obelisk arena!"

"Hmm, yes, and in front of the entire school, too, where everyone can watch!" Crowler mused.

"Yeah, watch you get slammed by me!" Chazz jabbed.

They put their decks in their duel disks and turned them on. "Duel!"

Jaden: 4000  
Chazz: 4000

"No excuses this time, Chazz!"

"Bring it, Slifer Slacker!"

"Oh, it is brought!" Jaden drew his next card, when he heard a familiar coo sound. "Well! It's my favorite furry friend."

Jaden smiled at his spirit partner. _'Kuriboh, you're in for a treat! We're about to rain some serious skills on Chazz! Check it!'_

He looked over the cards in his hand and one caught his attention. "I don't believe you got the chance to get acquainted with this guy, did you, Chazz? So, I'll summon Rogue Hero Frostbite in defense mode!"

The ice hero appeared in a small blizzard (1800/1600). " _ **Shall I call forth one of our comrades?"**_

Jaden nodded. "Then, I'll use his special ability! When he's summoned, I can summon another Rogue Hero from my hand! I pick Rogue Hero Witchlight!"

An orb of light appeared in the field and then expanded until it look the form of a young girl about sixteen. She's of average height and weight with fair skin, light blond hair that goes below her shoulders, and brown eyes. Her weapon was a gold and silver 9" wand, meaning unlike her comrades, who were warriors, she was a spellcaster (1700/1000).

"They'd like to make your acquaintance." Jaden smirked, laying a face down.

Chazz snickered. "Not after they see what I've got planned for them!"

"Too bad they won't be around for that part," Jaden smiled cryptically. "Since it's my end phase, my monsters' abilities kick in. I can tribute Frostbite to special summon a WATER monster from my hand and I can tribute Witchlight to special summon a LIGHT monster from either my hand, deck, or graveyard."

Frostbite and Witchlight nodded before jumping up into the air. Frostbite was then surrounded by a blizzard, vanishing from view. Witchlight began to glow an intense light. When they faded, two new heroes took fighting positions in front of their duelist.

The first was a young, muscular man with shortish raven hair and green eyes. He was dressed in black jeans, black boots, and a black vest without a shirt underneath. His weapons of choice are twin war axes (3000/1000).

The other was a rather small, young woman. Her hair was long, light pink, with a lot of feathers, pearls, and beads woven into it. She had amber colored eyes and purple dots under them, unknown whether they are makeup or tattoos. She wears an all black outfit with dozens bracelets and anklets, and she's barefoot. In her hands were two, razor sharp, red fans (2700/2000).

"Meet Rogue Heroes Snowstorm and Dancer! They wanted to meet you, too."

"Don't think for a second those two have a chance against me, Jaden, or against this!" He drew his next card. _''Preciate the card, Crowler.'_

"Fresh off the presses, meet Magical Mallet!"

"What's that?" Jaden asked, getting suspicious.

"A redo. All the cards in my hand that I don't want, I put back in my deck. Then I shuffle and redraw. Pretty cool, don't you think?"

"Wha?! How?! A rare card on the first draw?!" Syrus gasped.

"And a very dangerous one at that," Bastion explained. "Now, Chazz will essentially be able to pick exactly which cards he wants and which he doesn't."

"I haven't even gotten to the best part!" Chazz said, redrawing and showing Magical Mallet again. "See, Jaden, I got to reshuffle Magical Mallet, too!"

Jaden growled, knowing what that meant.

"So if I draw it again, which I just did, I can play it again and again! And that comes in handy when I'm looking for this! V-Tiger Jet! Sharpen your claws in attack mode!" A yellow tiger, shaped like a fighter jet appeared (1600/1800).

"And there's a lot more where that came from! Check out the magic of Frontline Base! It lets me summon another level four or below monster this turn! And I have just the one. I play W-Wing Catapult in attack mode!" A blue jet platform appeared (1300/1500).

"Now merge!" Both flyers took off and then joined together, one on top of the other (2000/2100). "All right! The VW-Tiger Catapult!"

The audience was impressed, but Jaden wasn't worried. "Good play, Chazz, but your monster doesn't come close the power of my monsters."

Chazz smirked, grabbing another card. "Not after I play this! I play Shield and Sword!"

"That's not good!" Jaden muttered.

"Gimme a break! Is this guy's turn going to end sometime this century?!" Syrus complained.

"Now all the monsters on your side of field switch stats until the end of the turn!" Jaden's monsters staggered a little at the change in energy levels (3000-1000/1000-3000) (2700-2000/2000-2700).

"So now after the Heatseeker Blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your life points are toast!" The Tiger Catapult launched its missiles at Snowstorm, but Jaden was prepared.

"I activate my facedown, Negate Attack! Not only is your monster's attack negated, but your battle phase is over!" Jaden countered, a vortex absorbing the missiles.

Chazz grunted. "Fine, I'll finish up with one card face down." Since his turn ended, Jaden's monsters got their old stats back (1000-3000/3000-1000) (2000-2700/2700-2000).

"Yeah, go ahead and finish up, because I'm just getting warmed up!" Jaden drew his card. "Speaking of which, here's my favorite girl who can really turn up the heat! Rogue Hero North Star!"

A new hero took to the field next to her comrades. She had long, thigh-length purple-ish pink hair with wavy side bangs framing her face, light mantis eyes, and fair skin. She wore something like a black dress with gold jewelry and black high heel boots, and she wields a silver staff that kind of looks like the Artemis Rod from Vampire Knight (900/900).

"Then I'll activate her special ability. For every Rogue Hero on the field, I gain 500 life points and I count three!" North Star closed her eyes and started chanting in an unknown language. Jaden was then surrounded by a soft purple glow and his life points went up.

Jaden: 5500

Chazz: 4000

"Alright, now Jaden's got three monsters out!" Syrus cheered.

"And two of them are powerful enough to take down Chazz's monster!" Bastion said. "This duel could end right here, assuming Chazz's face down doesn't stop him!"

Alexis was watching the duel from another part of the arena. ' _Jaden, be careful! You have no clue what his face down is!'_

"Snowstorm! Send his monster to the scrap heap!" Jaden ordered.

 _ **"At once, my lord!"**_ The warrior charged forward.

"Big mistake, Slacker!" Chazz called, moving to activate his face down.

" _ **Not happening!"**_ Snowstorm called, the card instantly becoming encased in ice.

"What the?!"

"You know, I forgot to mention Snowstorm's special ability," Jaden smirked. "As long as he's on the field, your facedowns are out of commission!"

"No!"

Snowstorm's power caused Tiger Catapult to end up frozen in ice too. He then proceeded to chop it to pieces with his axes.

Chazz: 3000  
Jaden: 5500

"Lucky punk!" Chazz snarled.

"Call it what you want, Chazz," Jaden countered. "But I've got two monsters left to attack, and you have no defense. This duel's over."

"And now to make it official! He's all yours, girls!"

Dancer was the first to make an attack. She opened her fans and threw them at Chazz like throwing stars. They sliced right through him, making him clutch his stomach in pain.

Chazz: 300

Jaden: 5500

North Star brought up the rear. She pointed her staff at Chazz and fired a red bolt of magic at him, effectively knocking him off his feet.

Chazz: 0

Jaden: 5500

The crowd was stunned silent for a moment, but then they were cheering quite loudly.

"Jaden did it!" Syrus cried happily.

"Impossible," Crowler cried leaning on the glass up in the booth where he was watching. "Not with all the rare cards I gave Chazz. This simply can't be!"

"Rare cards? What exactly are you talking about, Crowler?" Shepard asked, who was also up in the booth with him.

Crowler jumped when he realized he was talking out loud. "Uh, nothing! I have to go grade some tests."

He quickly walked off. Shephard just laugh at his retreating back.

Jaden, again surprised by the cheering, waved to the crowd that was cheering him before turning to the Chazz. "That's game, unless you want to duel again."

"Oh, we will." Chazz hissed.

"Hey! Jaden!" Syrus ran up to him with Bastion walking up behind him.

"That was well played, Jaden," Chancellor Shephard spoke over the loudspeaker. "Not in the history of our revered academy has a Slifer ever dueled an Obelisk during these exams. Jaden, not only did you hold your own, but you won, and without losing a single life point. Your courage against overwhelming odds is inspiring. It is with great pride that I grant you promotion to Ra yellow. Good job!"

The crowd cheered again.

"Ra Yellow?! You're the best, Jaden!" Syrus complemented, hugging him around the waist.

Jaden was nearly jumped at the sudden contact, but he smiled. "I do my best." He said humbly.

"Good show, Jaden. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ra yellow." Bastion offered his hand.

"Thank you!" Jaden said, shaking his hand.

The crowd cheered again and Jaden returned to waving to them.

Syrus watched with a smile and sad eyes. _'Aw, man. I knew Jaden wouldn't stay a Slifer for long. I hate to see him go, but I know it's for the best. Hopefully, we can still be friends, at least.'_

 _Slifer Dorm_

Later that night at the Slifer dorm, Chumley was talking over getting a new roommate after hearing the spellcaster duelist got promoted.

"How's this? "Roommate wanted. No one named Chazz. Rare cards a plus."" Syrus didn't answer. "Hey, if you're not going to help with this, Sy, you should do something constructive like make me a grilled cheese."

"I just thought he'd say good-bye to us. That's all I wanted." Syrus said sadly.

"Hi, guys!" Both Slifers turned to see Jaden standing in the doorway. He had teleported in, but the guys were so distracted they hadn't noticed.

"Jaden? Why are you here?" Syrus jumped out of the desk chair.

"I wanted to say congratulations on passing your field test, oh, and in case you've forgotten," Jaden smirked. "I live here! Sure Ra yellow sounded nice, what with clean sheets and lack of cockroaches, but without you, Syrus, it's just not my home."

"Ohhhhhhhh! Really?!" Syrus jumped onto Jaden in a hug, crying like a little baby.

"Sy, what the heck?!" Jaden complained, embarrassed, as well as not sure about the warm, fuzzy feeling that came with it.

"I thought I'd lost you forever," Syrus sobbed. "And now I'm never letting go of you!"

It was at this point Jaden started trying to push Syrus off him, but he held strong. "Please, Jay, just a couple more hugs, huh?"

"It's not the hugs, it's the waterworks!" Jaden snapped, but starting laughing at some point, enjoying the time he had with the people he was starting to view as his second family.

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Jaden was still awake. He was still thinking about the day, as well as that mystery package.

' _Who sent that? And why? And how do they know me?'_ Jaden wondered. ' _My parents could be anywhere, if they're still alive, and Rose was the only one who knew about my deck.'_

These thoughts kept racing through his head until he finally fell asleep.

 **And we are done, baby!**

Alex: With this chapter and studying for a while.

 **Yes, I can breath (Promptly faints)**

 **Wayne: Is she okay?**

 **Sakura: Oh she's fine, she's just hungry. It's almost dinner time.**

 **Donna: Enjoy the update. Read, review, and stay tuned!**

 **(Prayers for London. All hell broke yesterday afternoon. Prayers for the lost and hurting)**


End file.
